A Castle Christmas
Hello there,
My name’s Sophie and I’m the Visitor Services Apprentice at Colchester Castle. I’m writing to let you know that the witch mark on the castle wall works! There wasn’t a single sign of an evil witch on Halloween night (well, aside from the occasional cackle after a glass of witches brew!), although it may have been the faces of our visitors, painted as ghosts and ghouls, that scared them away.
Now November has come to a close and Christmas is well on its way. The elves have a to-do list as long as the Castle is tall. They are wrapping presents for Santa’s visitors who have been good (and coal for those who were naughty!) and setting up his winter wonderland grotto. Santa is expecting a busy day on Wednesday 13 December, when the Castle opens its doors for free, but his work certainly doesn’t end there. He will be taking present requests, as parents can book for their kids to meet him up until Saturday 23 December. So long as they’re on his nice list, those extra lucky children can even receive presents before Christmas!
We will even have a wonderfully exciting Christmas trail for families to follow around Colchester’s festive Castle. Then, after the 23rd, Santa will close up our museums and head to Lapland, ready for the big day (fear not, we’ll be open again on the 28th!).
But for now, the Christmas tree is up, the fairy lights are on, the elves boots are polished, the bells are extra jingly and the glitter is sprinkled around every nook and cranny of the Castle – bring on Christmas! We hope to see you for our free Open Evening next week. I’ll pop back and let you know how it goes.
Sophie
p.s. It was a great night – here are a few snaps, including one of me at my mince pie stand…
