A Walk In The Woods: Broaks Wood - Halstead, Essex

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If you’re looking for a free outdoor activity near Braintree, Broaks Wood is a nice option. Broaks Wood is located around 15 minutes from Braintree, along the road leading to Sible Hedingham. As you turn into the woods, the track is VERY bumpy and full of potholes, so make sure to take it slow. The woods are great for walking, cycling and horse riding! Dogs are welcome too.

Broaks Wood Essex

Follow the track for a short distance into the woods and you’ll come across a small parking area. There’s not a huge amount of parking spaces, but there are some spots that are big enough to park a minibus. As mentioned it is free to park and explore the woods, but it does mean that there are no facilities. No toilets etc, just a couple of bins to throw away any rubbish! Right next to the car park is an area of logs which create a nice communal picnic area.

In the car park is an information board which shares a little about the history of the woods. It’s said that the forest area might date back to the Ice Age! It’s now a ‘working woodland’, meaning that wood from the forest is sustainably harvested each year. In all honesty, they do a pretty good job, because you can’t tell. It still looks like thick woodland!

Broaks Wood Walking Trail

The board has dark blue dots that map out the ‘Broaks Wood Walking Trail’. This is a fairly short, easy loop of the forest. The track is quite wide and flat. (At a previous job, I have been part of a group that pushed wheelchairs and pushchairs around this trail. Just remember it is a forest so it’s not completely smooth, it can be a little bumpy!). Wooden posts with a red band and arrows mark out the trail, so it’s easy to follow if you stick to the path!

Along this trail there is a ‘bird hide’, wildlife observation shed. We didn’t see anything in particular, but then we visited in the middle of the afternoon on quite a hot day. I’m sure if you sat in it for a while you might see something! In another area of the woods, we saw a couple of very vocal squirrels…they make such a strange noise!

Exploring The Woods

If you follow the trail through the gate, from the car park, this is a very wide, well-maintained track. It actually joins up with Halsted Road if you keep walking in a straight line!

There are other tracks around the woods but these aren’t really mapped out. My personal favourite walk is to go along this main track, but when you see the arrows to follow the ‘Broaks Wood Walking Trail’ (on the right-hand side), keep walking until just before you reach a red dog poo bin. A small track leads off between the trees on the left-hand side.

You can either follow it straight on or bear right. If you go towards the right, you’ll end up in a larger clearing with a couple of rope swings and a tree with ‘Everything I hold dear resides in those eyes x’, carved into the trunk.

Broaks Wood 'Everything I Hold Dear Resides In Those Eyes' Carved Tree

Just past the ‘carved tree’, the path forks again. Take the left-hand fork and follow it through the woods. Eventually, you’ll come to a lovely viewpoint on the edge of the forest. It looks over the surrounding farmland and often you can see sheep! This is one of our favourite viewpoints in the area!

From here, you can either turn around and follow the same path back or have fun exploring the woods and see where you end up! There are some other narrow little trails and old footbridges on some of the lesser travelled paths!