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City & Village Tours: 0845 812 5000 info@cityandvillagetours.com
North Sea. Harwich is a gift to tour guides,
full of good stories including the marvellously
named Lighthouse Lil - a lady of doubtful virtue!
Gyll King City & Village Tours MD writes:
“I used to keep a caravan near Harwich and
the Electric Cinema became a firm favourite.
Maybe it’s in my blood as my father was a
cinema projectionist and mother was an
usherette - it’s how they met. Sixty two years
of marriage later mum still jokes that she only
left the cinema when, pregnant with my older
brother, she could no longer reach the peanuts
at the front of her tray. You’ll see this gorgeous
little building on the tour and whenever possible
we take you inside this nostalgic peach of a
picture house. It is one of the oldest purpose
built cinemas to survive. The Edwardian
exterior suggests the chapel of a little known
religious sect, one of the shaking, trembling
and speaking in tongues sort but a closer
examination reveals a tiny ticket kiosk and
separate sixpence and shilling entrances.
There was also a cheaper tuppence entrance
round the side where stampeding was not
unknown! The cinema opened in 1911 and was
built in the era of silent movies to comply with
a new law intended to deal with the
unfortunate and deadly tendency for the type
of film used back then to burst into flames
and devour the audience.”
Our entertaining day out continues after lunch
with a scenic drive along the coast through
the Edwardian resort of Dovercourt and then
inland across The Naze to Elmstead Market,
not far from Colchester and to our afternoon
at the Beth Chatto Garden.
One of the many attractions here is the gravel
garden designed to resemble a dried up river
bed. This is an innovative illustration of the
Chatto principal of ecological gardening and it
hasn't been watered for nearly 20 years.
With yet another hose pipe ban on the
horizon for this summer there are lessons
to be learnt here.
You can buy good quality nursery stock on
site and there’s a tea room in the garden to
round off a very enjoyable day out in Essex.
Beth Chatto & The Ha’Penny Pier is available
every day except Sundays until the end of
October and costs £17.95 per person.
You’ll find it on page 30 of our brochure.
An ideal trip for
July, August or
September