The Best Things To Do In Braintree Essex

Braintree Essex is located on the A120, around a 20 minute drive from London Stansted Airport and the M11. It has two train stations, Braintree and Braintree Freeport, which has direct links into London. The town was listed in the Domesday Book as ‘Branchetreu’ and has had a strong manufacturing industry over the years. Braintree Town football club was founded in 1898 and some famous people with Braintree roots include: Olly Murs (went to Notley High School), Louie Spence (dancer), The Prodigy and Next of Kin. I, myself am a Braintree local and I’m sharing with you some of my favourite things to do in Braintree!

(Please be aware that I do have a second website, and I have a guide to Braintree on there. I have rewritten it and updated it for my Essex site. So if you notice it sounds similar and the photos are the same, yes I know, they are all mine!)

Things To Do In Braintree

History

Bradford Street

Braintree is packed full of history. It dates back over 4000 years and was a settlement on an old roman road! (Colchester, just 25 minutes away, is said to be the oldest town in Great Britain). A great place to start is Bradford Street. Although it doesn’t date back to the Roman times, you’ll find houses from the 13th century. There’s a sign near the roundabout of Courtauld Road that shows some of the history of the street.

Some of my favourite looking houses are:

77, 79 and 81 Bradford Street

Together these houses used to make up the Woolpack Inn. Parts of the building date back to the 1400’s. I really love how the 3 houses are painted brightly in different colours!

87 Bradford Street

Number 87 is known at Wentworth House. It’s a bright yellow Grade II listed building, built in the 1500’s. If you walk along Woolpack Lane to St James Road you’ll come across a folly. It’s often the subject of discussion in the Braintree Facebook groups! No one really knows what it is! Some say it’s an old iron gateway leading from the back garden to Wentworth House to Queen’s Meadow. Others say it was a summer house (apparently haunted!). Maybe it functioned as both!

114, 116 and 118 Bradford Street

114, 116 and 118 Bradford Street make up the timber framed ‘Tudor House’, another house dating back to the early 1500’s. In ‘recent’ history it was a museum before the exhibits moved to Manor Street and the building was turned back into housing.

Bocking Mill

Not to be confused with Bocking WINDmill (see below). Bocking Mill was built in the late 1500’s. It was originally a cloth mill, then it was a flour mill and now it’s been converted into a house (that was recently up for sale for £1.3million!). It sits right on the river and looks beautiful!

Bradford Street has strong connections to the cloth trade. This industry has deep roots in Braintree’s history…

Warners Textile Archive

For those that are interested, the Warner Textile Archive is located in the old Warner and Sons Mill along Silks Way. The displays include silks that were made for Royal Coronations.

Braintree Museum

Located in Braintree Town Centre, the museum is in the former Manor Street School building.  The school was built in 1862 and closed in 1990. It opened as a museum 3 years later.  It is home to an authentic Victorian class room, where school groups can take part in a role play, giving them the opportunity to experience what school was like back in the Victorian era. Which as a child was terrifying. I was forced to write with my right hand and then told I had bad handwriting! You think!!!???

The museum celebrates the history of Braintree, with exhibits on the large industrial companies that called Braintree home (Warner & Son, Courtauld and Crittall), the effect of World War I and II on Braintree and Roman artefacts found during excavation digs around the town.  They also have temporary exhibits too.

The Braintree Cage

You may have walked by the Braintree Cage and not even noticed that it was there! After all it just looks like a little brick shed with a wooden door! You’ll find it in New Street, roughly opposite the entrance to Tesco’s car park. On the side of it there is a plaque that says: “Built as an overnight lock-up for the restraint of the drunk and disorderly”…which I think is brilliant and could probably still do with being in use!! So it acted as a mini jail between 1840 – 1875.

Braintree Gants

Another Braintree quirk are its ‘Gants’. It’s a completely unique term to Braintree. These are little alleyways around the town but some have really weird names! “Pigs Head In The Pottage Pot Gant” is my favourite one, this one can be found in the town centre between the Candy Land shop and Vision Express in Bank Street. Another is “Bird In Hand Gant” which connects Coggeshall Road with Cressing Road (opposite the Jubilee Oak Express).

St Michaels Church

As mentioned above, Braintree used to lay on a Roman road. No one really knows how old St Michael’s Church is. It is thought that parts of it date back to the 12th Century and traces of Roman brickwork has been found.

Next to the church is a fountain. Not going to lie, it’s a bit weird. However, it is a Grade II listed structure! In the centre is a naked boy holding a fish in each hand and he’s surrounded by sea lions. The life of the fountain has been a bit of a roller coaster, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s been filled up with bubble bath multiple times and during the 2018 World Cup, the naked boy gained an England football shirt (which I thought was brilliant!).

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Cressing Temple Barns

Cressing Temple Barns date back to the early thirteenth century and are free to visit! There are displays on the history of the barns and the area as well as a Tiptree Tearoom!  (Whenever I’ve visited the tearooms have always been PACKED with only outside seating available!) The walled garden is well worth a wander around too.  Cressing Temple holds several events throughout the year including car shows and the popular annual Essex Food and Drink Festival.

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Shopping

Braintree Street Market

There are 2 weekly markets in Braintree, on a Wednesday and a Saturday. However on the last Saturday of the month is the Braintree Street Market. This is a larger market with more food and drink stalls and craft stalls. I like to go for the food options! I’ve had chimney cakes (which originate in Hungary) and loaded waffles to name a few!

Braintree Village

Originally known as Braintree Freeport, the shopping centre has now changed names and is called Braintree Village. Here you’ll find a lot of designer outlet stores such as: Hollister, The North Face, Osprey, Mountain Warehouse, Vans, Nike, Adidas, Lindt Chocolate Shop, Cadbury’s Outlet Shop and more! It also has its own train station (Braintree Freeport…as far as I’m aware it hasn’t yet changed its name), which is just a short walk away.

Things To Do

Braintree Swimming & Fitness

While you’re near Braintree Village, there are several other things to do in this area! First up is Braintree Swimming and Fitness. There’s a smaller teaching pool, a kids ‘fun’ pool and then a 25m normal pool. You’ll also find a gym. I personally have not used the gym facilities but I used to go swimming every Sunday morning. The water is kind of chilly but it’s fine once you’re used to it!

Namco Funscape Bowling Alley

For years the bowling alley was literally just that, bowling. It now has a really cool arcade where you can win tickets to exchange for prizes. New additions include a soft play area and a ‘Clip ‘n Climb’ climbing wall experience! (There’s a larger Clip n Climb in Chelmsford).

Cineworld

Doesn’t really need much explaining, after all it is just a 12 screen cinema! Parking can get a little tight during peak times, as multiple places all share the same car park. Hopefully this will change though as they were looking at expanding the parking areas!

The car park is free for 6 hours (to stop commuters!). If you plan on staying longer you can validate your car registration number at the tourist information centre in Braintree Village. Keep in mind that the Braintree Village shuts before some of the surrounding restaurants and the cinema etc.

Food and Drink

Of course there are lots of different options for food and drink in Braintree. Here are some of my personal favourites:

Breakfast: Pasha Cafe (8 Leather Lane)

Cafes: The Coffee Tree (7 New St), Thorntons (Braintree Village), Tiptree Tearoom (Cressing Temple Barns)

Fish & Chips: Smith & Jones (3 Rayne Road), Mick’s Fish and Chips (297 Coggeshall Road), Henleys of Braintree (18 Queens Road)

Dinner: The Orange Tree (Pub – Cressing Road), Astronomer/Hungry Horse (Pub – Avenue E, Great Notley), Nandos (Braintree Village), The Ruby (Indian – 122 High St)

Dessert: Shake Express (112 High St), Kaspa’s (59 High St)

Outdoors

Public Gardens

The Public Gardens is one of my favourite places in Braintree! It was donated to the people of Braintree back in 1888 by Sydney Courtauld. It’s split into two separate areas. One section is a large open space with children’s play equipment and a cafe (Coffee House In The Gardens). This is a great place to have a picnic on a warm day! Special events are held in this area too, such as: a classic car show, brass band concerts, an open air cinema, the Little Legs Festival and Family Fun Days with inflatables).

In the centre there are some tennis courts that can be hired (£5 per hour). Then the bottom section of the gardens is more of a proper garden. With a fish pond, flower gardens and a wildlife area. The main gate of the Public Gardens is on St Peter’s Road, but there is a hidden access gate near the fish pond, which comes out closer to Courtauld Road.

Bocking Blackwater River Walk

A nice little Braintree walk is the Bocking Blackwater river walk. It goes along the north side of the Fairview estate. You can almost walk from the Braintree College site to Marks Farm Tesco without barely crossing any roads!

The main walking path was tarmaced and widened, making it perfect for pushchairs, cyclists, and dog walking. A small section has a boardwalk, right along the edge of the river. And there’s a weir that has recently become popular with kids swimming in the water next to it.

I like to do a circuit starting along the Bocking Blackwater walk, cross over the bridge (that used to be the site of Straits Mill), along Convent Lane and Broad Road, turn down River Mead and then join the path back across the fields. The full loop is around 1.5 miles in length! (If you want a detour, ‘Limey Lake’ is an interesting stop!)

You can also continue this walk and go all the way to Stisted! You can read the full step by step guide in this post: Braintree to Stisted Essex Countryside Walk

Bocking Windmill

Bocking Windmill was originally built in 1721 but has been at its current location since 1829. It was in operation until 1929. It’s no longer a working mill but all the original parts are still on display. The mill opens up several times during the year for tours.

The Flitch Way

The Flitch Way is a 15 mile walking and cycling route that goes from Braintree to Bishops Stortford. Between 1869 – 1974 this was an old railway line. I wrote a whole post about the Braintree to Rayne section of the Flitch Way. This is a great, fairly flat walk (just a couple of bridges!) that takes around 45 minutes one way. You can stop for a cake and a drink at the Booking Hall Cafe at Rayne Station before walking back!

Great Notley Country Park

Another great outdoor space in Braintree is the Great Notley Country Park. You’ll find walking paths, play equipment, a large fishing lake and a high ropes climbing course. Every Saturday morning a free 5k timed run is held by ParkRun. The Great Notley Country Park is located on the edge of Braintree, so unless you live at the Notley Garden Village, you’ll probably have to drive. The country park is free to enter but you will need to pay to park.

Blackwater Alpacas and Pygmy Goats

Did you know that you can walk alpacas near Braintree? This is a fun little pre-booking experience, where you can take alpacas for a 45-minute walk and then hand-feed them along with the pygmy goats!

If you have any questions about Braintree, please feel free to ask and I’m happy to help! If you are looking at staying the night, there are several hotels in Braintree including: The White Hart (in the town centre), two Premier Inns, and a Holiday Inn.

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