Roman circus guided tour for tour guides

On Thursday (25th September), a number of Colchester’s Blue Badge guides came to Roman Circus House for a guided tour of the circus site and centre, led by Trust director Philip. Philip says that he gave them an exhaustive (and exhausting) tour! It included the recently-completed circus super-model, the whole of the circus centre and what we’ve installed here and what we plan to do here, the exposed remains of the circus in our front garden, the reconstructed stumps of the starting-gates in the garden next door, and the walkable parts of the site of the circus, all the way to Flagstaff House. The guides are now extremely well-informed on the Roman circus and able to communicate what they know, and they may include the circus site and centre in one of their tours. Some guides may also come and help at the circus centre.

Blue Badge guides are members of the Colchester Tourist Guides Association (CTGA). From their web-site: ‘… The Colchester Tourist Guides Association provides a range of tours and events which bring to life the long and fascinating history of Colchester and district in a friendly and accessible way.
– The  Association was founded over 25 years ago and now includes over forty members and associate members. All our members are professionally qualified Blue or Green Badge Guides,  and we are subject to independent reassessment every five years.
– We emphasise professional standards in all aspects of our work and provide for our members regular opportunities for updating of knowledge and  exchange of experience through talks and visits …’ – at http://colchestertouristguidesassociation.co.uk/

The CTGA web-site inlcudes a blog, details of guided tours and contact details, and you can also follow the CTGA on Twitter and on Facebook. Some members of the CTGA have formed a group called ‘Colchester history alive!’, which performs short scenes from the history of Colchester and are available for booking. Jonathan, one of the Blue Badge guides, is a member of the Trust’s Council of Management.

The image shows some of the guides in the circus centre with Trust director Philip and the circus super-model.

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