The Railway Sleeper is within walking distance of a number of really good pubs and places to eat, as well as near a convenience store and supermarket.
The Bricklayers Arms is a an excellent pub just a short walk down the road. It is well presented and known for its good range of real ales. It has a lovely beer garden and serves food day and night.
A few doors down from us is an Esso filling station which has a well stocked small convenience store attached to it. This stocks a wide range of general food items as well as food to go. In addition, it stocks beers, wines and spirits and has an ATM (Link) machine. The store is open from early until late.
At the foot of the Bergholt Road and straight over the roundabout, you will see an ASDA supermarket. This is open 24 hours and has a pharmacy and cafeteria within it.
The Railway Sleeper is within walking distance of a number of really good pubs and places to eat, as well as near a convenience store and supermarket.
Across the road from and a few doors down at the roundabout you also have a large pub / restaurant called The Albert. This is part of the Beefeater chain and serves food until late evening.
If you decide to cross over this roundabout and take the direction of the town centre, you will see a number of pubs, restaurants to suit all different tastes.
Mile End Road
Once you get to the foot of the Bergholt Road and take the fist exit left at the roundabout this will take you onto the Mile End Road. Whilst this is primarily residential there are 2 places worth checking out.
Tins Chinese takeaway (next to the Bricklayers Arms pub car park) we rate as one of the best Chinese take aways in Colchester and they deliver too.
If you travel up the road about 10 minutes to walk or 1 minute by car, you will come to The Dog & Pheasant pub. This offers really good affordable food all day 7 days a week. They also have an excellent large beer garden with a section for children so this place really can appeal to everyone.
Not only is the Railway Sleeper brilliantly situated for Colchester's town centre, main railway station (Colchester North Station) and main general hospital, it also benefits from having excellent access links to a number of key locations.
Colchester North Station 0.5ml
General Hospital 1ml
Colchester Utd Stadium 3.5ml
The lodge is located virtually next to a bus stop with buses serving the town centre, hospital, university and many more main locations. To get up to date information use your mobile and type Traveline to 84268 or visit www.nextbuses.mobi.
If it is the University of Essex you need to get to, we are in a good location for this being so close to a train station and opposite a bus stop. Trains go direct from North train station (about 5 minutes walk away) to the Hythe station. This is walking distance to the university and the fastest train takes 15 minutes. If you are travelling by bus to the uni, the direct ones are from the forecourt at North train station. Here you can get buses no 61, 62 ,74/74B, 76 & 78. They are approximately every 10 minutes during the day and 3-4 per hour weekday evenings. Weekends are less frequent. Although distance wise the university is not that far away, it is advisable to allow up to 45 minutes allowing for traffic.
A few minutes drive will take you to the important A12 dual carriageway serving a number of towns all the way to London or if travelling in the opposite direction, Ipswich and beyond.
In addition, approximately 40 minutes by car will take you to one of Britain's biggest airports, Stansted . There is also a great coach / bus connection to Stansted from Colchester North train station which is 5 minutes walk form the Railway Sleeper. This is operated by airportbybus.com route 133 and the journey takes around 1.5 hours.
Speaking of the train station - every 20 minutes there are trains to London's Liverpool Street , a journey which itself takes approximately 55 minutes.
If you are a coast and sea side lover , Clacton-on-Sea is just 17 miles away or just 15 minutes away is the intriguing Mersea Island. Additionally, the important port of Harwich is also within easy access.
For sightseers and historians Colchester offers visitors a town with almost 2,000 years of history going back to the times of the Roman conquest of Britain and much of a Roman wall built around the town can still be seen. Indeed the Roman invaders suffered one of their worst defeats at Colchester at the hands of Queen Boudica (Boadicea) who famously destroyed their garrison in the town.
Colchester is also home to a fine Norman Castle which houses an excellent museum and stands in the beautiful Castle Park. Also in the town is Tymperleys clock museum, housed in a fine timber-framed building dating back to about 1500, the Siege House which still has bullet holes in it from the time of the English Civil War and Hollytrees Museum dating back to the 1700s.
Many modern attractions are also available, notably Colchester Zoo (see below), Leisure World, Rollerworld, Superbowl and Aqua Springs as well as numerous shops, pubs, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs.
The Zoo is located just south of Colchester. Take the A1124 exit (Junction 26) off the main A12 following the brown elephant signs. If accessing by bus, use the main bus station in the town centre and look for stand 9.
For football fans or those attending the many special events at the Weston Homes Community Stadium , this is just over 3.5 miles away or about a 40 minutes walk.
The Railway Sleeper can also be used as an ideal base to tour other nearby areas. Within easy reach are the picturesque areas of Flatford & Dedham - known as Constable Country after the artist John Constable. There are many typical English villages such as Lavenham, Coggeshall, Long Melford and Clare. Or maybe you would prefer a visit to world famous jam makers Wilkins who can be visited at nearby Tiptree and whose jams can be tried in the cafe.
