-The layout (bar a few holes I'll discuss later) is brilliant. Fantastic mix of distance, placement, shot shaping and gap hitting.
-Elevation is used fantastically. You are challenged to throw up and downhill as well as on heavily inclined lies.
-Wide fair fairways
-High quality baskets (Mach Xs)
-Visually it's a very nice course
-Good use of the water hazards. Hole 5 asks for an 80m water carry, but there is a drop zone you can proceed to if you would rather not lose a disc. Used fairly as OB on a couple of other holes.

-Completely lacking course equipment other than baskets. No signage and very few tee pads. Alot of tee areas are uneven/change gradient
-Some holes definitely require a revamp. Tree growth/changes forced by the university have completely destroyed the lines on a few holes, especially 6 and 12.
-Spotters are definitely required, and the plurality there is intended. Many of the holes are blind or have incredibly thick rough, so they are essential for safety and speed of play/disc retention.
-This course would not be playable during university term time. So many of the holes play by buildings/busy roads/pedestrian thoroughfares it just wouldn't be feasible. However outside of term time it seemed to work fantastically for events.

It feels odd that for such a historic and prestigeous course in the UK it feels so disengaged from the community. There is no student club presence on campus and seemingly limited local club presence (likely due to constraints from the university). With an active club taking care of it a bit more this course could easily be a 4.5, but right now it really wouldn't play that well outside of a tournament to justify a higher rating.

Great layout
Easy parking (free at weekends)
University facilities on site

No signs
No obvious teepads
Hard to know where to go if going for the first time
Be aware of pedestrians around the course

Really enjoyed the course but until the tees were marked for the competition, I didn't know where to go. Some great holes to play though with a good mix of open and wooden holes. Elevation changes add to the complexity and serves as an extra challenge. My favourite around the lakes, with hole 5 needing a 60m (ish) drive to cross.

Recommend the course but would arrange to meet a local where possible to show you around.
Sports centre and university facilities are close by and I think it's £5 a round (not sure as played a tournament).

Watch out for other park users and pedestrians as can be quite busy at times.

Overall I really enjoyed the course and if there was a budget for teepads and signs, it would be a great course.

Varying lengths, elevations, and obstacles.
A good use of both RHBH and RHFH shots required.

Map does not match current course
Lots of campus construction going on
Some very dangerous holes both with people during warmer, sunny times and blind spots off tee crossing paved walkways.
Several tee boxes extremely difficult or impossible to locate (perhaps playing with a local can alleviate this?)
Several holes with a nettles problem

Will offer hole-by-hole comments and thoughts based off the map that is on both this and the Essex disc golf website.

Started on Hole 13 on the map, as closest to bus stop. Except it is no longer there. It is now fenced off and seems to be a drainage ditch.
Hole 14 - No tee to be found...approximate from the map leads to a blind shot up and down a hill, with a footpath not visible from tee. Large construction fenced-off area just behind and down-hill basket, an errant shot could be gone for good.
Hole 15 - Found the tee box this time. Long straight shot but crosses a vehicle road and at-the-time busy sidewalk.
Hole 16 - Extremely dangerous placement. The hole is played hugging a building along a curve. There is a walkway approx 35 feet directly in front of tee that is obscured from tee that a passerby could emerge from building at any moment. A drive timed coincidentally could inflict some serious damage being that close to the tee. Elected to tee in front of this path.
Hole 17 - Not sure where tee box is (possible new construction)...played from where I could safely see basket. Again, crossing multiple paths that were busy during my visit.
Hole 18 - Same situation re: construction and tee box from 17. A few extra baskets from what seems to be left over from the short 9 course in close proximity if you wanted to practice putting at this point.
Holes 1 & 2 - no complaints. Nice down and back slightly wooden dead straight holes.
Hole 3 - Long, wide-open drive, with a fairly interesting basket placement. Although during my round, there were people out picnicing right next to the basket that were not visible until about 20 feet from basket. I would go with a spotter on nice days.
Hole 4 - A good test of accuracy as it sits just shy of the water
Hole 5 - Could not find tee area. Lots of construction going on both sides of the lake in the general area of where the hole is supposed to be. Looks like it could have been a great hole, but played a short 100ft or so putt after all the construction.
Holes 6 & 7 - no complaints, could not find tee area, but easily manageable from map.
Hole 8 - could not find tee area and it looks like from my viewing from the map that there have been several picnic tables put in right in the middle of the fairway for the three buildings that border the hole.
Hole 9 - easy, straight, wooded tunnel
Hole 10 - could not find tee or basket, the general area from map is completely fenced off for construction
Hole 11 - Crosses several paths that were frequented at time of my round. Interesting obstacle of the sculpture. Basket now says #12 though.
Hole 12(?) - Tee box starts wide open but path suddenly gets narrower as you approach the basket. Lovely style of hole but now overgrown with nettles. Basket says #13.

Final thoughts - I have no doubt this used to be a great course, the general design and what I can make of the map suggest so. But with all the new buildings, construction going on, and missing tees/baskets/whole hole it has really put a damper on the experience. The front nine was scores better than the back in my opinion. The entire course needs a re-think, especially some of the more dangerous holes (I'm particularly looking at you #16). Bring a spotter for the many blind shots and possible passerbys relaxing during nice days.

playing round buildings was brilliant, so a great variety of obstacles,an awesome lake shot which I made and birdied,

nope none this course is great

I only did the Ace Race here followed by a round of ript, which was great fun on this course,

The University of Essex campus offers a scenic setting in Wivenhoe Park for 27 holes of disc golf. The main 18-hole course winds through the campus going up and down hills as well as over valleys. There's a solid balance of lefty vs. righty holes. The online website is very well done featuring hole-by-hole descriptions. The targets are multi-chain baskets of some brand that I wasn't familiar. There's water in play on a couple holes, which is always a nice challenge.

Tee boxes are natural and utilize various different marking techniques. Some boxes are marked by 12"x12" paver stones at the front, a couple boxes attempt to make the entire box out of the paver stones. However, most boxes are marked with a simple wood board at the front of the box.

The toughest tee shot on the course ("The Lake") has probably the worst condition tee box, it's a mud pit after any bit of rain. No tee signs or distances. Duck/geese poop almost completely covering a few fairways. "The Lake" hole is an impressive challenge requiring a drive of 230+' to clear it through either of two small gaps, which is too much to ask of some lower level players.

I played this course several times for the 2011 British Open. The Open's layout skipped a couple of the normal holes, added a couple new holes, and tweaked the teebox locations of many others. In spite of this I still got a good idea of how the normal course plays. Each hole has a cute British name, which I heard was somewhat common for British courses. Collect your birdies on the short holes because the longer holes will test your ability to avoid carding 4's and 5's.

The golf that this course offers is good, however the overall course is hampered by the poor tee boxes and lack of any signage. With some basic improvements this could be a really nice course.

The very informative webpage at http://www.essexdiscgolf.co.uk / and online map made the course relatively easy to navigate. Without both, you'd have some difficulties.

Wide varieties in distances, averaging 400', and ranging from woods-on-left-open-on-right hard-left turning 230' #13, to 772' #8 and its steady but mildly rising elevation change, with bits of bushes and trees in the midst of the very long fairway. Practically every hole will have some elevation change, and obstacles to avoid.

Basket-6 missing. Unnumbered baskets quite old, some a bit bent. Tees (some concrete, most natural) less than ideal. No signage.

When students are out, milling about and enjoying fine weather, and/or moving between buildings during class changes, a good portion of the course can become unplayable. Many baskets located near buildings or have fairways which have walking paths crossing them.

The rolling hills, upon which the University of Essex sits slightly southeast of Colchester city-centre, with its smattering of mature trees, flowering bushes, and large ponds, provides fine terrain for creating a challenging disc golf course. The first ten holes have you playing amidst the scattered trees located on the slopes leading down to the ponds, while the last seven holes are on the other side of campus, where most of the obstacles will be buildings or ob roads and paths. The only tight hole would be funneling #12, so this is not a course for technical aficionados.

Navigation tips: As you walk towards basket-10, look over your right should and find the multiple high-rises. Tee-11 is on the other side of the second high-rise from the left, past the bike-rack area. Basket-11? Well, if you could throw a laser beam through the modern art statue ~100' directly in front of the tee, then drop down the hill, you'd be right on target. Was unable to find the specific tee location of #6, #7, #10, and #14, but the map made it simple enough to approximate their locations.

Favourite hole: #15. Teeing from the top of a hill, your target, at about the same elevation, is located slightly in the woods in a tree stump. Between you and it is 650', of which the first half is a steep downhill, where you'll find a ob road, then as you attempt to regain the elevation, you'll find a large copse of trees and bushes in line with the most direct path to the basket.

Least favourite hole: #17. Starts between two buildings, throws across two walking paths, and the basket sits scant feet away from the glass-paneled sports building!

Sans students, this course offers plenty of variety and challenge, but since this a university first and a disc golf course second , try to time your visit for when school isn't in session, or the weather so miserable that the students won't be out. I wasn't able to complete #8, or even attempt #10 or #17, due to the continuous student activity on a fine Spring weekday afternoon..

Nice layout, beautiful campus, good pin placement. Only playable when the students are in their classes, must stop playing for 10 minutes every 45 minutes or so when the students are changing rooms and hundreds if not thousands of people are in the fairways.

No tee pads, poor signage. To be fair I only played the first 8 holes or so because the holes down by the pond were so overrun by ducks, geese, and another webbed-footed bird I'd never seen before, that the ground was completely covered in bird poop. I noticed that all my discs were brown from the poop and decided to stop in the middle of the round. I like to lick my fingers to give traction to the disc, but I'm not licking anything if bird poop is around.

I felt welcome on the campus and even bought books at the college book store. Most people were not aware there was a disc golf course on campus, but everybody was so friendly and civilized. I guess it's true the Brits are more civilized than us Yanks.

An extremely well looked after grown up course with a good mix holes par 3's and 4's water and woods. Situated on Essex Uni campus the course winds around the extensive campus grounds. Challenges for the advanced player, with options for those starting out. Well worth the effort.

Fairly open though out, perhaps it lacks some tighter wooded holes. Very well suited to the longer throwers. No real cons other than the British weather, but then again it makes it a whole different disc game.

The campus is pretty much open all year round and popping in to the sports center for a map is a good idea.
Make sure you go round the awesome par 2 course before and after your main round, a great way to warm up and down!

Take some pond discs if your not confident driving 70 across a lake. If you have a retrieve, your in for some fishing fun.