While I was on my own in Winchester I did some book shopping and I found a book I had read about in the New York Times Book Review, Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent. It seemed like the perfect book to read while I was fossicking around the county with UK Sarah. When we caught up with each other, Sarah pulled a book from her bag that a friend had given her, “I can read it and then you can read it!” I laughed and pulled out my copy. So we both began reading the book on our journey from Winchester to Tollesbury.
We planned our activities and saved searching out the landmarks in the book for our last full day in Essex. We’d begin at Colchester and then because her main village was imaginary, we’d visit Wivenhoe (Wiven-HOE!) on the River Colne. Then for a bonus, we drove out to see Mersea Island because I kept it seeing it in the distance and I was curious.
Colchester is a fascinating city. It is fast growing now, but its modern development is built on an old Roman wall and around Colchester Castle.
We really had a lot of fun interacting with the book, the history, and the current people and place. We got caught in a lot of traffic on our way to WivenHOE! because University of Essex was hosting their open campus day for prospective students. Once we were out of town we had the roads much more to ourselves. It is always a bit amazing that so many people can live in England and yet there is still so much seemingly uninhabited countryside. Recommend the book and the day’s adventure!
Here is a sample of the book to entice you to read it:
She arrives home with her arms full of dog-roses in creamy bloom and three new freckles on her cheek. She puts her arms round Martha’s waist, thinking how well they fit ther in the groove above her broad hips, and says, “They’re on their way–everyone who’s ever loved me and everyone I’ve ever loved.” (p. 231)
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