Ladies Trip 2011 – The ‘Ladies’ invade Colchester

Ladies Trip 2011 – The ‘Ladies’ invade Colchester

After an early start Jean and I arrived at the campsite in Colchester. Luckily there was a brief spell of sunshine that lasted long enough for a spot of tent erecting. After checking out the facilities (we were amazed by the standard, there was even a separate sink for vegetable prep!), we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. It was a long wait – Ruth and Fran had left Hastings half an hour after us but spent a couple of extra hours sat on the motorway.

Once the tents were up we went on a short walk to explore the area, despite the sky looking promising the rain got heavier and heavier, we decided to head back to camp but the woods we were in made sure that we just walked round and round in circles. There seemed little hope of escape, even though we could see the back of the campsite over the hedge.

We eventually arrived back at base camp, dripping wet and made the decision to head to a local pub to eat. The Lexden Crown was discovered just up the road, and with perfect timing our Colchester host, Rebecca, came to join us. We instantly felt at home in this pub, with it’s quirky layout, along with great food and drink, we knew we would be back. After filling our stomachs and fortified with alcohol we felt that we could cope with any weather that the weekend threw at us.

On Saturday morning, we were joined by Jersey and Jean’s daughter Julie, then we set off for a walk around St Osyth, following a route of geocaches with took us on a circular walk. Thank goodness the rain had stopped and the sun was out. We stopped for lunch in the village and got the opportunity to look around a flower festival in the church (or for some of us a look around the church for clues for geocache co-ordinates).

After our brief stop, we continued on our walk, unfortunately the sky was turning very dark and there was thunder rumbling in the distance. A quick decision was made to abandon our walk and take a short cut back to the cars. We then headed to Winvenhoe with Rebecca, to catch up with Con, Dylan and Maisie. This turned out to be an excellent plan as the heavens opened and there was a huge storm with spectacular thunder and lightening.

After a short while the sun returned and we headed back to the campsite to cook tea. With perfect timing for the food, we were joined by Kim, who had to join us late due to a family gathering, we then all headed back to the Lexden Crown for drinks. We managed to keep the locals amused (or bemused???) with the now regular Ladies weekend, shopping list game (it’s best not to ask!!!!!).

On the Sunday morning, Rebecca came to join us at the campsite and the whole crew was together for the first time over the weekend. So Jean, Ruth, Fran, Jersey, Kim, Rebecca and myself, headed to the village of Marks Tey, to start the days walk. The GPS was out, and all searched for geocaches along the way. We were also well fed along our route as the hedgerows were laden with fruit. At lunch time we arrived at Great Tey, which marked the half-way point of the walk and we said good-bye to Rebecca who had to go and pick up the kids, and Fran and Jersey who were heading off for an afternoon’s horse riding.

Jean, Ruth, Kim and I, sat in the church yard for lunch, and just as we were finishing the heavens opened, the waterproofs went on and we continued on our walk. Once we were thoroughly soaked through, the rain stopped and the sun was back. The remainder of our walk, involved a brief pub stop for refreshments, and a scream from Ruth when she discovered a field full of mushrooms (we knew what was coming for breakfast in the morning). As our legs were just about to give up, we made it back to the car, having thoroughly enjoyed the day (and found over 30 geocaches!).

When we got back to the campsite, Fran and Jersey were waiting for us, a meal was cooked and we sat out putting the world to rights until the cold forced us to bed.

On Monday morning, we decided to go and investigate Colchester before heading home. We followed a route into the town by heading for the nearest geocache, which meant that by the time we made it to town, it was nearly time to head back.

Thanks to Rebecca for organising a great campsite and for introducing us to a new area. And thanks to everyone for putting up with the constant running into hedges to look for a plastic box…

Here’s to next year’s weekend!!

Jane

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *