This summer head to North Essex, for an alternative to the busyness of the city and enjoy the diverse range of activities on offer.

If time is against you this summer, it’s still possible to revive your mind and body with a short break away from the stresses of everyday life. A quick burst of fresh air, a relaxing stroll along the water’s edge and perhaps a glass or two in the sunshine can do wonders to prepare you for life back in the fast lane. Or you can choose to invigorate your senses with culture, stimulating those little grey cells with something different, freeing your mind to spark fresh ideas and inventions.

In North Essex there is space to do both.

Wivenhoe House hotel is set in its own beautiful parkland with lakes overlooking the hotel, with a view not dissimilar from 1816 when John Constable painted ‘Wivenhoe Park’. To stretch your legs, you can wander to the little quayside town of Wivenhoe and dream of life on the water.  For the open sea head to Frinton or nearby Walton on the Naze, scrunch your toes in the sand and enjoy an ice cream.

To stimulate those creative juices Colchester’s contemporary art gallery, firstsite, is exhibiting works by Andy Warhol until Sunday 12 June, bringing together some of his most notable drawings, photographs, films, posters and installations.

As the founder of Pop Art, Warhol was a true visionary, and to celebrate his legacy, firstsite is turning over some of the space to emerging artists, Hattie Stewart and Camille Walala.

Colchester Castle is the largest Norman Keep in Europe. One of England’s most important heritage sites, it is now home to the Fenwick Hoard, an impressive collection of Roman treasures found under the Williams and Griffin store site on the High Street, Colchester and unveiled earlier this year. It’s a thought-provoking collection of jewellery and money, possibly buried during Boudica’s sacking of Colchester in 60 AD.

So if you’re short on time but longing for some space, you’re destined for Wivenhoe House hotel.