Location focus boydens.co.uk 50 If you’d rather experience a more homegrown variety of nature, the Dedham Vale and Constable Country are ripe for exploration to the north of Colchester, while Mersea Island lies to the south. The Dedham Vale is Essex’s only Designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, while the saltmarshes on the mainland around Mersea are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, providing unique habitats for native species and migrating birds alike. Nature reserves such as Abberton Reservoir and Fingringhoe Wick are run by the Essex Wildlife Trust, meaning there’s no shortage of scenic country walks around the flat Essex landscape to enjoy. Mersea, of course, is also famous for its seafood and particularly its oysters, and you’ll find a fine selection of seafood restaurants on the west of the island, kept stocked by the local fishermen. But the other local delicacy can be found in nearby Tiptree, where worldfamous jam manufacturer Wilkin & Son runs its farm and factory, and you can stop by one of the several local Tiptree Tearooms to sample their unique, little, scarlet strawberry jam as part of a delicious cream tea. There’s plenty of other hidden treasure too, from the country’s tallest Tudor gatehouse at the impressive Layer Marney Tower, to a first-class heritage railway at the East Anglian Railway Museum, neatly positioned beside the sizable Chappel Viaduct. A bright future As much as it’s a town steeped in history, Colchester is always looking to the future, and its ambitious Northern Gateway will become a thriving location for living, playing, working and doing business. Located to the north and south of Junction 28 of the A12, the site is gradually transforming into a new sport, leisure, business and residential destination of regional significance. Forming part of this major development is the £28.8 million, 76-acre Colchester Sports Park – boasting one of the largest cycle tracks in the East of England – which opened in 2021. Work is also under way on a £65 million, 200,000 sq ft Leisure Park, due to open in autumn 2023. This will include a 12-screen Cineworld, seven restaurants, two drive-thru restaurants, a 90-bed Travelodge hotel, Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, Puttstars indoor golf centre and a Jump Street climbing centre, as well as high-quality landscaped piazza, parking for 750 cars and a rapid charge electric vehicle charging station. Also in the pipeline are 350 new homes, a healthcare hub, and 45,100 sqm of commercial floorspace. The whole development will benefit from an integral digital network providing ultra-fast broadband to local homes and businesses. For more information about Colchester, visit www.visitcolchester.com
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