Colchester and surrounding area

When is your trip? That could affect people's suggestions.

If you have a car, then there are some exceptionally pretty towns & villages around Colchester. A little north into Suffolk, Bury St Edmunds is a gorgeous town. Sudbury & Long Melford are pretty too. The Suffolk coast is well worth a visit - you can see the burial mounds of Sutton Hoo, and also go to Aldeburgh and/or Southwold for a lovely coastal experience.

Colchester is also handy for "Constable Country" and the old-fashioned well-preserved seaside resort of Frinton is worth a look.

I think it's an exceptionally pretty - if low-key and underrated part of the country. I wish all those tourists haring around the Cotswolds would realise that the Eastern side of the county is every bit as pretty - with some stunning houses and villages.

I'm personally not over keen on Colchester itself, but it's a perfectly average town - that just happens to be perhaps the oldest recorded town in England.

Oh, we'll be there in June, sorry I forgot to mention that earlier.

Colchester is the only part of the trip where we were considering having a car. It sounds like there's a lot of beautiful countryside to see in that area, not to mention the coast!

I love all this input. Thank you for taking the time to chime in!

mb

Oh, June is often a lovely month for the English countryside and seaside: looong days, a good chance of lovely weather and not too busy, either, as schools don't break up till July.

Also add to the 'not too far away' list Clare, Lavenham, Bury St Edmunds and Aldeburgh; and the pretty seaside town of Southwold where almost every pub is an Adnams one, brewed in the town.

Colchester, my birth place. I lived in the area for about 20 years before moving to the USA. I go back almost every year and really appreciate the beauty of that area - But, Colchester is really just a regular town with a Norman keep/castle with Roman artifacts - not much else except some decent high street shopping. You will need a car to get to the beautiful spots in the area. The other posts have given you some wonderful suggestions about the Suffolk Coast and Constable country (Flatford Mill and Dedham). Lavenham, Suffolk is very nice for antiques and a walk around. Mersea Island reached by the causeway (but it floods at high tide - so check on that before you go). Wonderful for walking and watching the bird and sea life and eating fish and chips. Cambridge could be a day trip from Colchester. In Essex, you have the picture postcard village of Finchingfield (stop at the Fox pub for good food and drinks on the village pond), Audley End house in Safron Walden is wonderful. There are a lot of places to see in the area. I took a group of my teacher friends to the Colchester area two summers ago and they really enjoyed seeing a part of the country away from the usual tourist traps. If you are staying for a week, you could perhaps do a cottage - on the outskirts of colchester. Just wondering how you are getting to Dublin? Ryan Air flies in and out of Stansted Airport which is a more convenient for Colchester that getting to and from London Heathrow (the traffic on the A12, M25 is a nightmare at times). You could easily do London by train as a day trip from Colchester - arriving into Liverpool street.

Thanks all for the advice.

How we're getting to Dublin: the thought was to drive or train to Holyhead, divest ourselves of the car there if necessary, and take the ferry over. Haven't decided whether to ferry back and train to London, or fly to London. Anyone care to weigh in?

Also, my family and I are in disagreement. I think we'd benefit from having a car in Colchester, to do day trips and make getting around easier. Apparently the rest of the family is terrified of driving on the opposite side of the road, and my daughter (who is there this semester) says we'll be able to get everywhere we want to go by train and/or bus.

Thank you!

Stansted airport is just up the road from Colchester there are loads of cheap flights to Dublin and other Irish airports with the likes of Ryanair. It's the most obvious choice.

You. are going to use up several days just getting across the country through Wales to ferry to Dublin. Stansted airport is the most logical way of getting to Dublin from Colchester. Go to RyanAir website and book direct. They are cheap but pay attention to the add ons and luggage restrictions. Its approx. a one hour flight. I would not rely on getting around using the local bus service from Colchester. From my hometown (14 miles away from Colchester), it takes almost an hour to get into town. The buses are not comfortable and will be infrequent to the more scenic places around. Driving is not so bad. Just get an automatic and have someone help navigate.