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Firstgate gallery garden, Colchester, Essex

Firstsite gallery, Colchester
ARTS & CULTURE
Since it was founded in 1985, the exhibition programme by Colchester’s Firstsite visual arts organisation has featured such artists as Louise Bourgeois, Bridget Riley and Antony Gormley. Next year it will move into a new building, designed by New York-based architect Rafael Viñoly; for now, it will remain housed within the Minories gallery, a grand Georgian townhouse in the town centre with a walled garden café. There are tours of the galleries on Tuesday afternoons, drop-in art workshops on bank holidays.
Further information Firstsite @ the Minories gallery, 74 High St, Colchester, Essex (01206 577067/www.firstsite.uk.net). Open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm. Free.
Getting there
By rail: Colchester is served by National Express East Anglia (0845 600 7245/www.nationalexpresseastanglia.com) from Liverpool St.
By road: Exit M25 at J28, take A12, A133 then A134 to Colchester. Feature continues

Woodbridge & Orford, Suffolk
ARTS & CULTURE
Once a lively shipbuilding port, Woodbridge now rests a few miles from the Suffolk coast and is an idyllic starting point for jaunts north (twelfth-century Framlingham Castle) and east (Rendlesham Forest, the wilds of Orford Ness or the classy town of Aldeburgh). In Woodbridge itself, the pubs and restaurants provide an interlude between browsing the antique shops and a visit to Sutton Hoo, the treasure-stuffed burial site of the seventh-century East Anglian king, which lies just across the River Deben.
Further information Suffolk tourist information (01394 382240/www.visit-suffolk.org.uk); Sutton Hoo, Tranmer House, Sutton Hoo, Woodbridge (01394 389714/www.nationaltrust.org.uk; www.suttonhoo.org). Open daily 11am-5pm. Adults £5.60, children £2.80; Visit Woodbridge (www.visit-woodbridge.co.uk).
Getting there
By Rail: Woodbridge is served by National Express East Anglia (0845 600 7245/www.nationalexpresseastanglia.com) from Liverpool St. Bus 160 runs from Woodbridge to Orford.
By road: Exit M25 at J28, take A12 to Woodbridge. Orford is on the B1084, eight miles from Woodbridge.

Punting on the River Cam

Byron’s Pool and walk/punt along the river Cam, Cambridgeshire
WILDLIFE
If you feel like you’ve done Cambridge and its numerous university buildings, how about a more watery experience? Starting in the city centre, head to Scudamore’s Punt Station, where you hire a boat and punt south through woodland and pretty meadows to the secluded Byron’s Pool. Named after the poet Lord Byron, in the absurdly picturesque Grantchester region, just four kilometres south from the city centre, it’s said the poet used to swim naked here – the cheeky old rogue was once spotted doing so with a choirboy from Cambridge apparently and the legacy for a bit of nude swimming remains. Scandal aside, this is a perfect picnic spot surrounded by a wealth of wildlife thanks to the flora-filled Grantchester meadows. In summer months you can spot butterflies and dragonflies; you might even see a kingfisher, grey wagtail or woodpecker, so take your binoculars.
Further information Visit Cambridge (www.visitcambridge.org). For more information on Byron’s Pool call Grantchester Parish Council on 01223 870111. Scudamore’s Punt Station (01223 359 750/www.scudamores.com).
Getting there
By rail: Cambridge is served by National Express East Anglia (0845 600 7245/www.nationalexpresseastanglia.com) from Liverpool St and by First Capital Connect (0845 026 4700/www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk) from King’s Cross.
By car: Exit M11 at junction 13.

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