The Colchester Arts Centre is without a doubt the culture heart of Colchester. The intimate venue…read moreis in an old church, which is situated in the center of the town and easily accessed by both bus and train. The venue accomodates a range of shows including music, comedy, plays, film screenings, childrens days with activities and popular clubnights. The staff are very friendly and helpful with any queries you may have, and the security staff are strict but fair. The arts center often has widely-known music acts playing there including the killers, the strokes and placebo, and it is well worth keeping an eye on the website for upcoming shows whether you are local or not It is usually well worth the journey to see your favourite band or comedian in such an intimate and beautiful venue, particularly when the usual ticket price is so cheap!

A great place to see all varieties of performing arts, with beer festivals and ad-hoc events thrown…read morein too. Run by great people, for great people.

The Horsebridge is a great community centre for Arts, entertainment and a huge array of classes and…read moreactivities. The ground floor acts as an everchanging gallery with new and establised artistic talent showcased. Entry to the gallery is free and makes art accessible to all. Upstairs the Horsebridge has a cafe with blacony seating which allows a great view of whitstable. The Horsbridge is also home to a number of day and evening claases including yoga and children's french and drama lessons.

Venue for concerts and other such cultural activities. I came here for an Indian classical music…read moreevent. Very enjoyable 90 minutes Indian music. Seats not very comfortable. But it was only for 90 minutes. Clean bathrooms and drinks for sale. Near tube station.

Kings Place is a bright and shiny new office, conference and arts venue, situated on Battlebridge…read moreBasin on the Regents Canal, and accessed from York Way, 5 minutes' north of King's Cross railway station. Bright and shiny it literally is: the architecture is minimalist, with lots of straight, white walls, white marble polished floors, and seemingly acres of glass walls. The main façade on York Way consists of a wavy glass screen, and is decent enough of its type, although I don't think the frontage on the canal basin adds anything and, indeed, is rather less attractive than the nice brick warehouses across the way. Many of the rooms have lovely canal-side views. All this glitz is a bit of a shock after the grime of King's Cross, but an early indication of the gentrification already following the wake of the redevelopment of both St Pancras (now completed) and King's Cross (still under way). Unsurprisingly, security was subtle but clearly evident on my visit. Most of the centre is given over to offices, but the conference/art venue includes an impressive 420 seat auditorium and a smaller venue seating 200. As well as hosting conferences, there is an active season of concerts and recitals planned, including performances of Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Haydn, among less formal performances of jazz, folk and dance. There is also an art gallery here, and the walls of the centre itself are also used to host changing exhibitions. There's a cafe, two bars (one of which is open only for concert performances) and a restaurant, all fairly swish and pricey. The cafe is in the main atrium, but the Rotunda Bar offers rather better views over the canal basin. It all seemed fairly busy with lots of local workers from the nearby offices along York Way, and the odd conference going on (including the one I was attending). Conference organisation seemed OK, although with a few glitches over the audiovisual equipment. (Why is this always such a problem?) I have to say this feels like a slightly odd location for an arts venue, and I'm surprised (though impressed) at the range and detail of the programme currently planned to run until April. It'll be interesting to see how it develops.

A great space in the middle of Brighton, Very reasonable rates for room hire and lots of…read moreinteresting groups and classes going on all week including Yoga, Tai-Chi, Ninjitsu, kids dance classes, various support groups, pattern cutting classes, a Spanish families group and lots more. Email or phone to hire rooms or get details of classes/groups.

The Barbican is an area you can explore with a library, conservatory, rotating art installations,…read moreand miscellaneous events. You should check when the events are, because it could interfere with the areas being available for a visit. There was also a beautiful outdoor area that would have been amazing to sit at the café outdoors and admire the scenery, but unfortunately it was raining at the time of our visit and it would not have been as enjoyable to sit outdoors here. Would definitely come back to explore more, and hoping the weather will be better in the future.

Very disappointing experience. I'll start with the good. The front desk staff was incredible,…read morevery friendly and very helpful. Unfortunately, the concierge was probably the worst ever. I received a package via Amazon and showed him the details from the Amazon email. He condescendingly asked me where it was on his list, where it wasn't printed, and stressed that if it wasn't there they did not get a package. I cannot put into words how condescending he was. I left for dinner worried the package was lost or misdelivered. When I returned, he was no longer there so I asked the great front desk staff if they had received a package for me. They remembered getting something and checked a few places, long story short is they found the package. Again, kudos to the front desk who went the extra mile for me, but why was the concierge so negativistic and self assured. Another positive was the fitness Centre, which had some great equipment, including a nice rower and treadmill. Unfortunately, the smell in the hallway leading to the fitness centre almost made me sick every day. A couple other challenges from the property. The room is what I would have imagined a jail cell. A small mattress just thrown into a corner. Also, the door to the bathroom slammed every time I went in, I am sure not very pleasant for my neighbors. Also the fire alarm went off at 7 am my last night, the cherry on top.

Whilst I'm not a church goer by any means, we do on occasion go up to the church of St Marys at…read moretimes like Christmas, and the spring/summer fayres. It is a very old church, the entrance being just round on the left of the photo that I took.

Great selection of sweatshirts. The possibilities are endless. Many sizes and styles.read more

I went to look around the shop and it was exactly as I would have imagined it. It is just like the…read morepages from National Geographic simply lept out and came to life! The clothing is top notch for extreme climates but they also have inespensive tourist t-shirts. The staff are excellent and when one gave us the wrong directions another corrected him and then he found us and corrected himself too and apologised! The stuff in here is fascinating and perfect for kids of 4 - 104! I went to the cafe for the extremely reasonably proced cocktails and they had a lovely summery strawberry something which was amazing! Who would have thought - cocktails at the National Geographic shop! I have been meaning to come for awhile and I'm pleased I finally did!

' I was greatly entertained by Christopher West's talk about Charles Dickens and early Victorian…read moreLondon. He gave us an enormous amount of fascinating information, and it seemed impossible not to be stimulated by his gushing enthusiasm and passion for the subject. I am not a Dickens expert, so was attracted by getting all the background. There was a lot of fun and laughter, particularly with his vivid description of the primitive sewerage system (or lack of)! Congratulations too, at looking the part so well. The pub was typically Dickensian, though I was pleased to get a good cup of coffee from the friendly staff. The location was excellent, next to London Bridge and Borough Market. I'm only sorry now, that I didn't stay for dinner after the talk- the food looked great'.

'After visiting the outside of the Globe Theatre I suddenly realised just how little I know about…read moreheritage and literature, so I went to Christopher West's talk about Charles Dickens. I really enjoyed it (surprise) and came out feeling like an all time expert. His enthusiasm was non stop, and he brought alive the noise and squalor of London all those years ago. I don't know how he could talk through all those whiskers. I liked the pub as well- it seemed a perfect setting, and Christopher pointed out that it was central to many of Dickens activities'.

This is a lovely little craft centre, just outside of Great Dunmow town centre (off the old A120)…read more Here you will find a range of barns were you can browse around and purchase a whole range of crafts and gifts, such as dolls house items, clothing, jewellery etc. If you want to sit down for a drink or a bite to eat, timbers is a lovely little pub/ cafe/ restaurant serving a range of snacks, drinks and food. For a little entertainment you will find a crazy golf course and in the summer you can get lost in the amazing, original maize maze! A great day out for all the family!

The cafe cum restaurant is quite large and with a big menu. It's a bit old-fashioned and stuffy…read moreinside. The prices are a bit steep.

The Darby and Joan Club at the Woodlawns Centre has been going for more years than anyone can…read moreremember. A frequent visitor, it's terrific for me to go along to its musical get-togethers and sing the old favourites to the senior folk... seeing a couple of sprightly 80 year olds doing it cockney-style to my 'Knees Up Mother Brown' was a wonderful inspiration.