The Ultimate Guide of Things to do in Essex UK!

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I was born and raised in Essex. I’ve been to many places but there are still areas that I’m yet to cover! This post is a work in progress that I plan to continuously update as I explore and find new things to do in Essex! Hopefully, you’ll find something that catches your eye! For many districts, I have written more in-depth articles which include more information about many of the attractions!

Things To Do In Essex

Braintree District

The Best Things To Do In Braintree Essex

Flitch Way Country Park – A 15-mile walk along a disused railway line between Braintree and Bishop Stortford. The Booking Hall Cafe is a good place to stop for a drink and a snack (with toilets).

Great Notley Country Park – Large park with play equipment, walking/horse trails and Sky Ropes climbing course. Visiting the Great Notley Country Park in Braintree

Hedingham Castle – Hedingham Castle is a 900-year-old castle, popular as a wedding venue, with large grounds, events throughout the year and now an escape room!

Finchingfield – Said to be one of the most photographed villages in the county, with a duck pond, windmill, tea rooms and St John The Baptist church.

Cressing Temple Barns – Dating back to the 13th century, Cressing Temple Barns are free to visit. I like the Walled Gardens and the Tiptree Tearoom. Events are held throughout the year (some have an entrance fee).

Blackwater Alpacas and Pygmy Goats – At Blackwater Alpacas and Pygmy Goats, visitors can go alpaca hiking, hand-feed the goats and alpacas and even have cuddles with the baby goats!

Boydell’s Dairy Farm – This is a small working farm that offers hands on guided tours where visitors are able to milk a cow and feed the farm animals.

Colne Valley Railway – The Colne Valley Railway is a railway museum with train rides, ride-on miniature railways and model trains. The Santa Christmas event is always popular!

*Blake House Craft Centre and Maze – Here you’ll find a range of local small businesses along with a mini-golf course, play equipment and during the summer season, a large corn maze with over 5 miles of trails!

*Marks Hall Estate – Located in Coggeshall, Marks Hall Estate has woodland trails, an arboretum and two lakes.

Uttlesford District

(Flitch Way Country Park – The Flitch Way crosses both Braintree and Uttlesford districts!)

Hatfield Forest – Hatfield Forest is run by the National Trust. There are lots of woodland trails, a fishing lake and hidden geocaches! Parking in £8 (free for National Trust members). Facilities include a cafe and toilets.

Stansted Airport – Not exactly somewhere you can visit, but Stansted Airport is Essex’s largest airport and is considered one of the ‘London’ airports. Ryanair and Jet2 offer the most flights to destinations across Europe.

Mountfitchet Castle & Norman Village – This is an open-air Norman village museum, documenting what life would have been like 900 years ago. Goats, chickens and deer roam freely around the castle grounds!

*Audley End Miniature Railway – I love a miniature railway! The Audley End Miniature Railway has diesel and steam trains that travel through the woods along a 1.5-mile track. Teddy bear scenes are in the woods and guests can try to spot them using an I-Spy sheet. There’s also an Enchanted Fairy and Elf woodland walk. The Christmas events are VERY popular. Across the road is Audley End House and Gardens, an English Heritage site.

Colchester Borough

11 Fun Things To Do In Colchester, Essex

Colchester Zoo – I love Colchester Zoo! Over the years it has just got bigger and better. My favourites are the chimpanzees and meerkats. You’ll also see: elephants, rhinos, zebras, hippos, orangutans, sea lions and more! Several hands-on experiences include feeding the giraffes, elephants and rainbow lorikeets.

Colchester Castle – Another Norman museum is Colchester Castle, however it documents 2000 years of Essex history, dating back to the Roman era. You can pay an additional fee for a guided tour which visits the underground vaults and up on the castle roof. Castle Park is a lovely large outside space too.

Mersea Island – Mersea Island is accessed by a tidal causeway, where for 1 week a month, the water covers the road twice a day, cutting the island off from the mainland! West Mersea Beach has lovely colourful beach huts with a large beach and shallow waters.

Tiptree Jam Museum and Tearooms – An Essex made company and product is Tiptree Jam, dating back to 1885. They now product other products such as gin and honey. The factory is located in Tiptree and the museum is free to visit. During the summer they offer tours of the fruit farm. There are also 10 Tiptree Tea Room locations spread all over Essex (including one at the factory)!

Abberton Reservoir – This is a large wetland area great from bird and wildlife watching. There are walking trails around the reservoir. For £1 visitors can purchase a map to find 7 characters on the Brambly Hedge sculpture walk. Families include a visitor centre, a cafe and shop, toilets and a play area.

Chappel Viaduct – Chappel Viaduct is one of the largest brick structures in England. It’s popular for photos due to the illusion under the arches! It’s part of the Essex WWII trail, with pillboxes and anti-tank obstacles around the base of the viaduct. Millennium Green is a nice little nature walk with a boardwalk around the Water Meadow Nature Reserve.

Dedham Vale – Dedham Vale is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the Essex/Suffolk border. It’s also known as ‘Constable Country’ as it was an inspiration for the artist ‘John Constable’. A popular activity in Dedham village is to hire rowboats to row along the River Stour. Just across the border in Suffolk is Flatford Mill, a National Trust site.

*Layer Marney Tower – Layer Marney Tower is a Tudor Palace built in the 1520s. You can climb up the tower and visit the gardens and farm. There’s also glamping tents available for a mini break!

Tendering District

9 Best Things To Do In Clacton, Essex

Clacton-On-Sea Pier – Clacton Pier first opened to the public in the 1870’s. It was recently renovated to include an indoor soft play area and mini-golf. Of course, there’s a large arcade, fairground rides and even a double-storey go-kart track!

Tricky Escape – Escape Room – Tricky Escape is one of my favourite escape rooms that I’ve completed so far! I did the ‘Magic & Mystery’ room which is loosely based on Harry Potter (so, of course, I was going to like it). It’s very well done and the staff are great. There’s a second location in Harwich!

Things To Do In Walton On The Naze Essex!

Walton-On-The-Naze: Naze Tower – There are ‘two’ main areas of Walton, the town area and then the Naze. The Naze end is a wildlife area with coastal walks and the Naze Tower. It was built in 1720 and acted as a navigation tower. Inside is a small museum, a tea room and you can climb up to the observation point at the top.

Brightlingsea – I love Brightlingsea Beach, there’s a shallow tidal pool and a seawall walk with a couple of places for food takeaways/ice cream. It’s a nice place for a little day trip.

Dovercourt Lighthouses – You may have seen pictures of the Dovercourt Lighthouses on Instagram, these lighthouses are in stilts in the water! In Harwich, there are a couple of forts and a lighthouse (on land) that you can visit too.

A House For Essex (Wrabness) – While near Harwich/Dovercourt, make sure to visit A House For Essex too! It’s a work of art, created by FAT Architecture and Chelmsford born artist, Grayson Perry. A House For Essex can actually sleep up to 4 people, with a 2 night midweek stay started at £975.

Maldon District

Fun Things To Do In Maldon Essex

Maldon Promenade Park – This is a riverside park in Maldon with a large parking area, seawall walks, mini-golf, a splash park and several different food and drink options. Events are held in the park throughout the year, including the Maldon Mud Race.

Museum of Power – Another miniature steam railway! The Museum of Power has a 1/4 mile track around the grounds. There’s also a little fairy garden and of course a steam and engine museum.

Heybridge Basin – Just down the road from Maldon is Heybridge Basin. This is the point where the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation (a man-made canal) meets the river estuary via a lock. There are a couple of pubs, a Tiptree tearoom and river walks.

Osea Beach Huts – The Osea Beach Huts are another of those ‘photo spots’. A line of 10 beach huts on stilts stand a stone’s throw from the sea wall. When the tide comes in it cuts them off from dry land. In all honesty, they do look better when the water covers them as some of the boards leading up to them are a bit broken.

14 Places To Go Glamping In Essex!

*Mundon Petrified Oaks – Jelena from ‘Mate We’re Lost’ recently wrote a guest post about the Mundon Petrified Oaks, so I haven’t seen them personally. A field just outside Maldon has a field full of oak trees that no longer grow leaves! From the pictures, they look very creepy surrounded by other trees that are still very much alive!

Chelmsford District

7 Things To Do In Chelmsford Essex

Hylands Park and House – Hylands Park is a large park and house, they often hold various events in the grounds, throughout the year. When events aren’t taking place, there are lots of walking trails to enjoy!

Jump Street – The Jump Street location in Chelmsford is awesome, purely for the ‘Clip N Climb‘ centre! Whether you’re an adult or a kid, it can be challenging for everyone! For adults, it’s worth upgrading to the extreme package just for access to the additional elements.

Paper Mill Lock – Paper Mill Lock is another lock along the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It’s exactly halfway between Chelmsford and Heybridge Basin. There’s a tearoom with homemade cakes and sandwiches and you can also go on 1-hour canal boat trips (I went on one when I was a kid!).

*RHS Garden Hyde Hall – Hyde Hall is part of the Royal Horticultural Society and has 20 different themed gardens such as a rose garden, dry garden, a woodland garden and a reservoir and bird hide. During the winter (mid-November to the beginning of January), they have their ‘Glow’ illumination event.

Southend-On-Sea Borough

10 Best Things To Do In Southend Essex

Adventure Island – Essex’s only theme park! Located on Southend seafront is Adventure Island! With over 40 rides and attractions and 10 thrill rides, there’s something for everyone. My personal favourite is Rage (roller coaster pictured below). Entrance into the park is free and then you can buy wristbands for unlimited rides. (*Tip* Wristbands are MUCH CHEAPER if booked online in advance). There are some additional ‘pay to play’ attractions such as mini-golf and the dodgems that don’t require a wristband.

Southend Pier – Southend Pier is the longest pleasure pier in the world at 1.34 miles long! If you don’t want to walk, you can jump on the train which has return or single trips available.

Sealife Adventure – Also located along the seafront is Sealife Adventure! Originally it was an aquarium (with penguins and otters!), but after the closure of Tropical Wings, a group of meerkats and 3 tortoises were re-homed at Sealife Adventure. They also have some rescued Macaque monkeys.

Harlow District

The Panic Room – Escape Room – Another great Essex escape room is ‘The Panic Room‘ in Harlow. They have 6 different themed rooms and the rooms are sometimes changed out to keep things fresh!

Epping Forest District

Lee Valley White Water Centre – Lee Valley was one of the locations used in the London 2012 Olympics. It’s open to the public for water sports such as rafting and kayaking. I went Hydrospeeding which uses a bodyboard (costing £50 for 90 minutes)!

Brentwood Borough

*Brentwood Karting – I was sad to discover that the Rayleigh Karting track has recently closed. However, there is a large outdoor track in Brentwood that’s the fastest track in South-East England. The fastest karts can reach speeds up to 50mph! I’m hoping to visit in 2021!

(Essex Districts I have yet to fully explore (as an adult): Epping Forest District, Brentwood Borough, Basildon District, Castle Point Borough, Rochford District)

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