A Guide To 11 Braintree Parks & Playgrounds | Essex
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If you’re looking for something free to do in the nice weather, there are plenty of parks in Braintree. In this guide I’ll share some of the different parks and nature areas that you can find in town. Many of the Braintree parks are in residential areas, so please of course respect those that live near them. If you can walk, perfect, otherwise if travelling by car, park sensibly and do not block private driveways etc!
Braintree Parks
🎢= playground
Braintree & Bocking Public Gardens
Facilities: 🚾☕️🎾🎢
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 5 minutes
The Braintree & Bocking Public Gardens is one of my favourite parks in Braintree. It’s an area of town that I always love walking through. The gardens are kind of split into two areas, divided by tennis courts that you can hire.
The main part of the gardens has a small playground and a large grass area, great for ball games, picnics and more. There’s a small cafe that sells hot drinks and snacks and public toilets.
During the summer months, various events are held in this area. The Festival In The Gardens in a really great event, with music, local food trucks, comedy and more.
The Little Legs Festival happens in June and there’s also a car show that takes place in September. The Bocking Brass Band plays most Sundays throughout the summer, along with the Family Fun Days every Tuesday and Wednesday in the school summer holiday (inflatable slides, bouncy castles etc).
The lower part of the gardens is more like a typical garden, with flowers, trees and a pond with fish and more recently two resident ducks! There are benches scattered around in this area, so if you were looking for some peace, away from the playground area, this would be a good place to head to!
Clare Road Playground
Facilities:🎢
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 16 minutes
When growing up, I was always a fan of Clare Road playground, purely for the giant slides that go down the hill! It is located on a housing estate, so again, it’s best to walk there if you can, as it has no parking area of its own.
John Ray Park
Facilities:🎢
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 10 minutes
From the town centre, John Ray Park can be reached by heading towards Braintree train station. Follow the path at the end of the railway line and cross over the river. There’s a large grassy area and play equipment.
Heading back towards the train station, there’s some outdoor gym equipment and a small assault course, along the path that runs parallel to the track. The start of the Flitch Way Country Park is near to here too (read below).
Marshalls Park
Facilities:🅿️
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 14 minutes
Marshalls Park can be reached from London Road, where you’ll find a small parking area. Alternatively, you can follow the river walk from John Ray Park which goes past Godlings Way. There are no facilities or play equipment at Marshalls Park, it’s just a large grassy area alongside the river, but it’s quite a nice park. Just be careful of the river if visiting with children!
Meadowside
Facilities:🛹🎢🏀🏋🏻♀️
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 14 minutes
Meadowside to me will always be known as ‘the carnival field’. This is because in June when it’s Braintree carnival, the fairground rides are always located on this field! When the carnival isn’t on, Meadowside has a large grass field, a skate park and outdoor gym equipment. Alongside the edge of the park are a couple of shops, but these are the only ‘facilities’.
On the other side of Coldnailhurst Avenue, there’s a nature walk type area that connects to other areas of town, such as Bradford Street and the Public Gardens.
Tabor Field
Facilities:🎢
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 12 minutes
Tucked behind the Springwood Industrial Estate and the Lidls area is Tabor Field. This is a grass field with play equipment.
Weavers Park
Facilities:🛹
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 3 minutes
Weavers Parks is one of the closest parks to Braintree town centre. Part of Tabor school used to be located in this area, back when it was made up of several different buildings scattered across town! It’s now home to a small skate park with some benches. It works as a good cut-through to get between Coggeshall Road, Courtauld Road and The Causeway.
King George’s Playing Field
Facilities:🎢⚽️
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 27 minutes
King George’s Playing Field can be found just of Cressing Road, not too far from Alec Hunter High School, the road passes between the horses. There are two small playgrounds and a large field, popular for both kids and dog owners. You can also cut through to the Braintree Rugby Club.
Bocking Blackwater Nature Reserve
Facilities:🌳
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 15 minutes
The Bocking Blackwater Nature Reserve is a river walk with plenty of field space for ball games and for dogs to run around. There’s a paved trail that runs the length of the nature reserve which is popular for running, pushchairs and cyclists. You can cross over the river via a small bridge which connects up with Convent Lane.
It can be reached from Braintree town centre, I often use the route as a way of walking into town. The nature reserve backs on to a housing estate, where I know from experience, that parking is tight, so it is best to walk if possible. There are also no facilities here and the closest playground is on Fisher Field, which is up past the Nisa shop on the Fairview estate.
Great Notley Country Park
Facilities:🅿️🚾☕️🎢🧗🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 45 minutes
Great Notley Country Park (previously known as the Discovery Centre) is one of the biggest parks in Braintree, although it’s located more on the outskirts of town. It’s a really great park, with several different play areas, a high ropes course (for a fee), a cafe, public toilets, nature trails and a small lake. There’s more than enough space for picnics and to run around.
Every Saturday morning the free event ‘Park Run’ is held here. The only downside of Great Notley Country Park is that it is quite expensive to park, so it’s not the most budget friendly of choices. It’s also only really within walking distance of Great Notley/Notley Garden Village .
Flitch Way Country Park
Facilities:🅿️ at Braintree train station (£) | 🚾☕️🚴🏻♀️ in Rayne
🚶🏻♀️Walking distance from Braintree town centre: 9 minutes to the start
Another one of my favourite Braintree parks is the Flitch Way Country Park. Although it’s not really a park as such, it’s more of a nature trail. It runs along the old disused railway line, starting close to Braintree train station and heading out towards Bishops Stortford around 15 miles away.
It’s bike and pet friendly and is mostly flat with just a couple of sloped bridges.
A good stretch to do is the Braintree to Rayne station that takes around 45 minutes to walk. Once you get to Rayne station you’ll find the old station building which has been converted into the Booking Hall Cafe and there’s even a museum in a train carriage that sits alongside the platform! The cafe sell lovely sandwiches, cakes and a range of hot and cold drinks. Highly recommended. There’s also a public toilet here.
If you have any old paperback books you no longer read, there’s a free lending library in an old red phone box. Take them with you and see if there’s anything you’d like to exchange them for! Just off the Flitch in Rayne, you’ll also find a BMX track.
As mentioned, the beginning of the route is right next to Braintree train station. If you don’t want to walk to the start, you can park in the train station car park. If you go on a Sunday, parking is only 50p.
Read more: The Best Things To Do In Braintree Essex
Cheap or Free Things To Do In Essex During The School Holidays
