The Autumn Equinox is behind us, and the spooky season is here. How are you going to get in the spirit? Consider a Saturday in October…
Perhaps...
Perhaps it’s barely 8am, the light is struggling to break through and you’re greeting the day with a pumpkin spiced latte or the newly popular apple pie chai from Toast.
Perhaps instead...
You cherished a few extra hours in bed with a spooky tale you’d picked up from Red Lion Books the week before. You jump out of bed when you remember that you’ll miss out on the seasonal specials at Victoria Yum if you don’t get a wiggle on. You can’t wait to sink your fangs into one of their doughnuts.
Next stop
Long Wyre Street. You know that on and around Long Wyre is a fantastic concentration of charity shops all in one place. PDSA, British Heart Foundation and Sense are right there, and you’ll find Bridge Way just around the corner. You can hop from one to another and get some good deals on Halloween decorations.
Feeling crafty
If you’ve made it to Bridge Way Charity Shop, then you know it would be remiss not to pop into Textile Collective to check out their second hand fabrics and see if anything is going to inspire this year’s Halloween costume that you should have organised weeks ago.
Now you’re only a two minute amble down Priory Walk, along Queen and over to St Botolph where you’ll find Franklins. Here you pick up a book of Halloween knits to try at home.
Feeling playful
Time has slipped through your fingers, and your stomach is rumbling. You opt for a bite at Dice and Slice as it is perfectly positioned part way along your witchy pilgrimage to Wax Spiritual.
With over 800 games in their collection, you stumble across plenty of supernatural, and even harrowing options. You lose yourself for a couple of hours.
The Witching Hour
You hop on your broom and whizz on over to Wax Spiritual for some Samhain essentials. The sun is dipping low in the sky and all you can think about is being surrounded by candlelight.
The Watering Hole
You’ve secured some last minute tickets for The X Trials: Law and Supernatural (Saturday 19 October) , and you’ve got a couple of hours kill before doors open.
There’s the entirety of the city centre between you and the castle, and you’re spoilt for choice. You head over to Church Street and dive into Two Brews to explore the ever-changing delights of their beer menu.
Final stop
After a cosy autumnal day in. Colchester, it is about time you indulged your supernatural curiosity. You head to the castle to join criminal barrister and ghost-enthusiast Naomi Ryan for a journey into this strange area of law, in which the Fortean meets the forensic, the bizarre is examined by barristers, and the strange is investigated by the state. You're ready to learn about a whole array of weird cases, including witches leaking war secrets, ghosts solving their own murders, and Witchfinders terrorising the local area.
Please note, the majority of images in this article are owned by the following businesses: TOAST, Victoria Yum, Textile Collective and Colchester Castle
