We left the hotel about 9.15am, after Peter had advised everyone that this would be an exceptional day inasmuch that, whilst there was a plan of action for the day, he expected that several people would not keep to it! This was the 'day of flexibility' in the trip when people could (to a large extent) do their own thing. [In fact, of course, everyone was free to do what they wanted on every day but it was generally expected that most would normally 'follow the plan' as otherwise there would be little point in joining a Minibreak such as this.] In practice, no-one stayed at Beth Chatto Gardens beyond the planned leaving-time but quite a few did not did not spend all afternoon in Colchester but took taxis to get back to the hotel early.

The first visit was to the Beth Chatto Gardens, just to the east of Colchester and about 20 minutes from the hotel. We had a short introductory talk, being split into 2 groups to make it easier for our instructors, and were then left to wander around the grounds. For some of the keen gardeners amongst us, this was a highlight of the tour as the Gardens are world famous for the skill shown in its layout and overall impact. Its web site may be found here.

We got back onto the coach at 12.30pm for the 15 minute trip into the centre of Colchester, being dropped just around the corner from the War Memorial. We then had free time for lunch - there was plenty of choice - before meeting up at 2.00pm in the park entrance near to the War Memorial. We then split into 2 groups for a guided tour. Once again, although we had expected that one of the groups would be designated 'modest pace' and the other 'slower pace', the split was somewhat arbitrary. Our guides, Doreen & Ann, took us around the outside of the Castle and into the town before returning us to the starting-point. We were very fortunate that, for every one of the guided tours during the trip, our guides really were very good. The tour lasted about 90 minutes after which we had free time. Some people soon got a taxi and went back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. Others stayed to look more around the town, many taking the opportunity to have a look inside the castle in which very interesting displays of the history of the town & castle were exhibited. More information on the castle and other aspects of Colchester may be seen in the impressive VisitColchester site that may be found here.. The coach came to pick us up at about 5.45pm to take us back to the hotel.

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E17L2A	Even those amongst us who were not keen gardeners found the Beth Chattoe Gardens to be very impressive. It was not so much that the flowers were exceptionally pretty but that the layout was so clever & well-balanced that there was a strongly positive & relaxing atmosphere to it all. [Photos by Martin & Dianne.]
E17L2B	Few of us knew Colchester so it was good to have a look around this interesting town with guides to point out things we could easily miss. For example, the road in much of Maidenburgh Street, in Colchester's Dutch Quarter, is made up of bricks. Some of those bricks were darker than others. Just walking past them you might view the pattern as interesting but otherwise think nothing about it. Our guides drew our attention to them and then, with the help of a map in a house opposite them (which turned out to be a museum, shown in top left photo), showed that those darker bricks marked the outline of where a large Roman amphitheatre used to be. The castle is impressive. Inside there were 2 main floors of exhibits, with a mezzanine floor showing the gaol. It is odd to think that it was used as a private house for about 200 years (until the 1920s) but that was probably the saving of it. [Photos by Martin & Dianne.]

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