Wednesday 19 January 2011

Colchester Castle


Past weekend we went to Colchester castle. There are tons of castles in England and as a family, we love exploring them. We found out some very interesting facts about Colchester, such as it was the capital of Roman Britannia before moving to London. Boudica, The Warrior Princess had a very successful battle in Colchester, in her efforts to rid Britannia of the Romans.


The castle is considered one of the best preserved Norman Castles in England. This is the well in the courtyard. Little Man and Princess dropping coins in the well to hear the water below.







Usually when you tour a historic site in the UK, they have children activities to help the children stay interested in what they are seeing. Little Man finding a cooking pot and answering questions on his activity form. Also some of the sites will award the children with a sticker, candy or certificate on completion of the forms. There are usually several different forms to chose from according to your child's needs and you do pay a little for each form. We always have the children complete the forms as it gets them looking at the artifacts and hopefully learning about them. Some days are better than others with this:)




The castle was laid out in a time line of the history of the castle and the land before the castle existed. First stop was the earliest inhabitants of the area, sorry but I forgot to write down the name. As always Princess loves to dress up in the customs.










Next up the Romans. We learned all about the warrior princess,Boudica and did lots of hands on activities. Little Man wearing a Roman helmet.








Daddy and Princess trying to figure out how to assemble a Roman toga. Even with directions we couldn't figure it out:(. Little Man putting together a Roman mosaic puzzle.







Next up the Medieval Period. A Saxon warrior just like Daddy!












The Medieval Period and constructing a fire place mantel for the castle.









Visiting the dungeons and hearing the stories of the prisoners. Princess found that part gruesome.











I am linking up this post to


at My Heart's Desire.

Don't forget to link up your blog post all month at




hosted by Tracy, Linda and myself. Hope to see you there!

18 comments:

  1. Awesome pictures. Those castles are amazing! Looks like a lot of fun and a great history lesson.

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  2. My kids would LOVE a castle field trip especially since we have been reading about ancient Rome! The castles look beautiful and it looks like it was educational and fun at the same time! I clicked a vote for you today!

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  3. What a great homeschooling experience for your children. Thank you so much for sharing your photos.

    Have a great day!
    I voted for you today.

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  4. Also, Thank you for linking this post to A Day In Our Life Blog Hop. =)

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  5. Hi Robin,
    We so enjoy going to castles and there are so many to chose from here:)

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  6. Hi Tracy,
    There is so much here on the Romans. We learn something new at every city we visit. The Romans had such an influence on the world it is amazing what they accomplished with out machinery.

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  7. HI Lynda,
    Thanks sorry I was so late posting for your hop we have had such a crazy week:0 I will try to be on time next week:)

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  8. I'm envious. I've always wanted to tour the castles, and this one looks incredible. What great activities for your kids! They look pretty cute in the costumes.

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  9. Thanks Renee I often have to pinch myself as living here has given us so many wonderful opportunities.

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  10. Good morning Anna-Marie!
    That's neat that there is so much to learn that each time you visit you learn something new :) Just stopping in to say Hi (and clicked a vote for you) Have a blessed day!

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  11. The name you were trying to remember for the pre-Roman inhabitants is Briton (the collective name for the Celtic tribes that made up Roman Britannia).

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  12. I found you from the No Ordinary Blog Hop! Great post! I have only read of Colchester Castle...so awesome that you got to visit it!

    I am not following you.

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  13. I voted for you today. I hope you are having a wonderful week!

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  14. Happy Friday Anna-Marie!
    I hope you have a blessed weekend! I just saw the comment you made on my Hall of Fame post! Thank you for your kind comment! Have a great weekend! and clicked a vote for you always!

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  15. I am soooo jealous. To be able to live near such history and be able to visit it!!!! It looks like so much fun!!!!

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  16. Hi MommyKuehner,
    We love living here because of the history. Both my husband and I are real history buffs. We are lucky and we know it:)

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  17. What an amazing outing! And they even got to dress up, how fun. I linked over from the Hip Homeschool Hop and am now following your blog.

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  18. Thanks for following Jennifer. I am following back:)

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