A weekend in Colchester.

 A couple of weeks ago my boyfriend and I spent two nights in the beautiful town of Colchester. We stayed in the Red Lion Hotel on the high street (the oldest hotel in the UK) and had a really wonderful time.

When we arrived, after checking in to an amazing four poster bedroom, we went for a wander. Colchester really surprised me; I expected a small village-like town with cute little lanes and an antique-y feel and, whilst these kind of things can be found just off the high street, there is also unique cafés, shops and bars, all of the large high-street stores (Topshop, River Island, etc.) and a castle just two minutes away - I could have explored for hours.

We visited the castle on our final morning in Colchester and, even though I'm not hugely into history, it was really cool. The inside has been turned into an interactive museum whilst the outside and gardens were some of the prettiest that I've ever seen. Despite the terrible weather, we had a great time.

One of our favourite days out is to go to a zoo and, although I'd heard a lot about the one in Colchester, I'd never actually been there. It was HUGE! We spent the entire day exploring and seeing all the animals, it is a day out that I would certainly recommend to everyone; the animals are obviously well cared for and there were so many great things to do. I was like an excited child all day and even fed an elephant!

Both evenings we went to the same bar, which I had seen online and really wanted to try. It was called the Three Wise Monkeys and had a really cool decor and atmosphere. We didn't eat there, but the food menu looked great too. Whilst I'm not a beer drinker, my boyfriend took great delight in the huge selection on offer and I was perfectly happy to, as they served my favourite cider.

We had a really great trip and, more than two weeks on, I still haven't stopped talking about it. I definitely want to go back to Colchester and see what else it has on offer.

Haze x