Looking for something different in April? Our immersive murder mystery isn't your average Saturday night. On 18 April, Colchester Castle becomes a Roman crime scene. Prosecco, costumed suspects, and a murder to solve. 7:30pm, £35, 18+. Perfect for date nights or groups. buff.ly/x5kQpQz

BBC One Show this week from Colchester. The full reveal of Discover: Museum Wonders and its centrepiece specimen: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/discover

A queen entered Colchester. We're just not sure who. This 18th-c wash drawing shows a royal procession down the High Street. French inscription, copied "after the print" by artist Hare one October. Catherine of Braganza? Queen Anne? Fiction? Someone thought it worth copying. We're still puzzled.

Booking still open: Discovery Detectives Kids Club at Colchester Castle, Easter 2026. Four sessions, ages 5–12, £10 per child. Different dinosaur each week, evidence pack included: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/kids-club

Half term week is on 🏰 Colchester Castle and the Natural History Museum have events running daily from 30 March, including fossil handling, family tours, a kids detective club, relaxed openings, and an escape experience.

Mystery, puzzles, and a curse to break. The Serpent's Curse returns to Colchester Castle on 2 April for a special after-hours escape experience. You and your team will explore the unexplained goings-on that caused several Castle staff members to mysteriously disappear.

Thanks for all your guesses! This is The Turrets on Lexden Road, photographed in 1972. The building is now part of St Mary's Girls School, and a fine example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, that became fashionable in the 19th century.

Throwback Thursday! This striking building with its castellated turrets and Gothic arched doorway has a touch of the castle about it. Those distinctive corner towers might ring a bell. Can you work out where in Colchester this is?

Junior detectives get a badge and evidence pack at Discovery Detectives Kids Club, Colchester Castle this Easter. Four sessions, 31 March to 9 April. Ages 5–12, £10 per child. Book your session: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/kids-club

Hollytrees Museum is on Euan's Guide. Accessibility info all in one place, and reviews from real visitors are always welcome: euansguide.com/venues/hollytrees-museum-colchester-16966

Solve a murder in Colchester Castle while drinking Prosecco. Saturday 18 April, 7:30pm, £35. Immersive murder mystery set in Roman Britain. Roam the Castle, interrogate costumed suspects, work out whodunnit. Drinks included, 18+. colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/murde...

Timed entry tickets for Discover: Museum Wonders are now available. Limited capacity in Hollytrees Museum’s Georgian galleries means advance booking is recommended. 🎫 colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/discover

Two weeks to go! Colchester Castle opens after hours on 10 April for guided tours through hidden corners and Roman foundations. Explore the Castle's secrets with expert insight. Ages 10+, £15. Evening tours: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/afterhours-tour

It has been so much fun working on this! 🦖🦕

World Water Day: the Romans had reusable vessels. We have free water bottle refills at Colchester Castle, Hollytrees, and the Natural History Museum. Just ask a member of staff. 💧 colchester.cimuseums.org.uk

Final Sign Language Week video! Lois shows us her favourite Castle objects in BSL: snail tiles, gold jewellery, burnt bread (!), coins, and various animals including a firedog??

Our dinosaur visitor may be 150 million years old, but it’s not the only ancient thing in the building. Colchester Museums’ fossil collections include specimens from right here in Essex, from a time when this whole area was a warm, shallow sea.

The flowers in Castle Park are doing spring regardless of what the weather thinks about it. Respect. 🌼🌬️

Museum Manager Lois is back with a BSL tour of the Castle: Norman toilets, Roman mosaics, dark prisons, and gift shop chocolates. The essentials, really. Part 2 for Sign Language Week!

You too can plan a visit to see the potato, starting this April!

Reveal time! This is Trafalgar Road, Lexden, during VJ Day celebrations on 15 August 1945. Communities across Britain took to the streets to mark the end of WWII.

Throwback Thursday! A proper street party with bunting and smiling faces. Those terraced houses might give you a clue. Can you work out where in Colchester this celebration took place?

Beyond the dinosaur, the Discover exhibition features witch bottles, gentleman lobster claws and objects found in unexpected places across Colchester’s collections. Centuries of local strangeness, curated: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/discover

Global Recycling Day reminder: Colchester Castle was built c.1076 using Roman bricks, tiles, and temple foundations that were already over 1,000 years old. Medieval upcycling at scale, and it's still standing. 🏰 colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/visit/colchester-castle

It's Sign Language Week and our Museum Manager Lois has been learning British Sign Language! Watch her welcome you to the Castle in BSL. 👋 We're committed to making our museums more accessible and inclusive for all visitors. If you use BSL or are learning it yourself, we'd love to see you here.

The Easter holiday programme at Colchester Castle is here: Discovery Detectives Kids Club, 31 March to 9 April. Crafts, trails, games and dino-themed fun for ages 5–12. £10 per child. Book: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/kids-club

A 6.2m Theropod skeleton being installed inside an 18th-century Georgian townhouse is exactly the kind of logistical challenge museums were made for. Discover: Museum Wonders. Hollytrees Museum. This April. 🌐 www.colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/discover

Three weeks until our After Hours Castle Guided Tour on 10 April. See Colchester Castle in a completely different light—literally. Exclusive evening access to Roman foundations, the Great Stairs and more with an expert guide. Ages 10+, £15. colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/after...

🦕 Hollytrees Museum is opening a world-first Discover exhibition this Easter and we need volunteer Gallery Champions. Register before 23rd March: volunteers.cimuseums.org.uk/opportunities/discovergallerychampion AND email [email protected] with a short note on why you're keen.

Three weeks. That’s how long until Colchester gets its first dinosaur. Timed tickets coming later this month. We’d suggest being quick.

Buried under a Colchester house just before Boudica burned the town down. Hidden for nearly 2,000 years. Found by archaeologists in 2014. The Fenwick Treasure is one of the most significant Roman finds in recent British history.

On 2 April, we're hosting The Serpent's Curse at the Castle: a special after-hours escape experience set inside Europe's largest Norman keep. You and your team will have 45 minutes to crack clues, solve puzzles, and work out what happened to the Castle staff who mysteriously disappeared.

Wellness Week is in full swing at the Castle and our visitor services team is well aware of the happiness baked goods bring! 🍰🧁🍪

150 million years ago, this part of Essex was a shallow sea. No land dinosaurs survived in the local fossil record. Our collections reflect a marine world.

Reveal time for our #ThrowbackThursday! This is the junction of Military Road and Magdalen Street. That corner building with the gabled end and chimneys is still standing today. Military Road takes its name from Colchester's long garrison history. Got memories of this spot? Share them!

Throwback Thursday! Can you recognise this spot in Colchester? Cyclist pedalling past a corner shop with those distinctive chimneys. Where do you think this is?

Flash sale alert: child tickets to the Castle and Hollytrees are 50p from 23 Feb to 26 March. Up to 4 kids (aged 16 and under) with every full-price adult ticket. Chariot racing, prison cells, Boudica, three centuries of toys and a house full of clocks. Book at colchester.cimuseums.org.uk

Step inside Colchester Castle after dark on 10 April for a guided tour beyond the everyday visitor experience.

Hollytrees Museum is preparing for something unprecedented: a 6.2m Theropod dinosaur skeleton, 150 million years old, never publicly displayed. Opens Good Friday, 3 April. Full reveal on BBC One Show w/c 30 March. www.colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/discover

Date night / group activity / celebration sorted in one. 💪 Murder mystery at Colchester Castle, 18 April. Ancient Rome setting, interactive whodunnit, fizz included. Atmospheric historic venue, properly entertaining. £35 • 18+ • 7:30pm colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/murdermystery/

For #InternationalWomensDay: Roman graffiti, earrings from a lost hoard, a mysterious medieval figure, and a businesswoman extraordinaire. Stories of women from Colchester's past, pieced together from what survived. Read the blog: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/women-of-col...

Free tablet hire at Colchester Castle this National Lottery Open Week (7–15 March). Show any Lottery ticket at the welcome desk for interactive games, historic photos, and AR reconstructions of the Castle's spaces through time. Subject to availability. Details: buff.ly/CmxdtKc

For today’s #ThrowbackThursday, you’re looking at Colchester High Street long before traffic lights, Fenwicks or Friday shopping crowds! This view (taken before 1878) shows the High Street facing east, with St Runwald’s Church visible at the centre in the distance.

Colchester's collection of Roman face pots is one of the largest in Britain, which isn't surprising given the town's status as Camulodunum, Britain's first Roman colony, established in the 40s CE.

The Lares are among the more quietly fascinating aspects of Roman religious life, and their presence in Britain tells us something quite specific about how Roman identity was carried and practiced in the provinces.

You don’t need to squint too hard to figure this #ThrowbackThursday location out… Cobbles, carts, and a mystery tower at the far end - this is a snapshot of Colchester’s bustling heart before 1878. But what’s that building in the distance that no longer stands tall? Take a guess!

Ever wondered what Colchester Castle looks like when the doors close to the public? On 10 April, you can find out.

Murder mystery + optional fancy dress = excellent Friday night 18 April at Colchester Castle. Ancient Rome theme, immersive whodunnit, toga absolutely not required (but look how good people look in them). £35 • 18+ • 7:30pm colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/murdermystery/

March is absolutely stacked across Colchester Castle and the Natural History Museum. If your diary needs a nudge towards “do something nice”, this is it. First up: a calmer start, and a proper look at what’s coming.