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City & Village Tours: 0845 812 5000 info@cityandvillagetours.com
Until 9 June works from the Jim Ede
Collection will be on show, artists include
Alfred Wallis and Ben Nicholson. Beyond
that from 25 May through to 26 August
2013 is the first UK solo exhibition of the
German born but London based artist
Sophie von Hellermann, (below) with
30 new paintings plus a 100 metre mural
painted directly onto the gallery wall.
Running concurrently will be an exhibition
of Essex watercolours and prints by the
artist Edward Bawden (left), who was born
in Braintree in 1903 and but for a brief spell
in Hammersmith lived and worked all his
life in
Essex. The gallery
is in a good spot by
the Castle and the
Roman Wall and
after time to
browse the exhibits
there’s plenty of
choice on hand to buy lunch or sit with a packed
lunch before returning to the coach to drive out to
Mersea Island – the most easterly inhabited island
in the UK in the estuary between the Blackwater
and the Colne. Is it a real Island? Well the old
Roman causeway floods on the spring high tides so
yes, it is a real island. At times. I’ll tell you what it
is for sure – a wonderful discovery.
The oyster shells found with the Berryfield Mosaic
back in Colchester might well have come from here
and 2000 years later the island is still famed for its
oysters. There’s also lots of Viking history here.
Hasten the Viking is thought to have camped here
for two winters while he plundered and pillaged the
country as far north as Chester. Today on the site of
his camp is one of Britain’s rare moated churches,
St. Edmund King and Martyr, where the Reverend
Sabine Baring-Gould, no doubt inspired by both the
bracing air and the church’s ultimate victory of
survival over the Pagan invaders, penned the rousing
hymn
Onward Christian Soldiers.
To wrap up a stimulating and memorable day out we
are going to retire to a popular pub on the front for a
Cream Tea which is included in the tour fee before
heading for home at 4.45pm. If you want to extend
your time on the Island we can push that back to
5.45/6.00pm. This brand new day out has been put
together by our Blue Badge Guide Catherine and is
available Tuesdays to Fridays throughout the year and
we’ll check the tide tables when you book! Including a
Cream Tea the day costs £16.95 per person. Add £2.00
per person if you’d like to include the cost of morning
coffee and home made biscuits or leave that for
individuals to pay for on the day. The coach mileage is
35 and the most you’d have to walk is about 800 yards
thoughout the day though
more active members can
easily add to this if they so
choose.
Booking Now.
Call 0845 812 5000