8 Of The Best Places To Visit In Essex
There’s certainly no shortage of great places to visit in Essex this summer – this is after all, a county that’s home to the United Kingdom’s oldest recorded town, Tudor villages, several beaches, some gorgeous countryside and lots of fabulous family attractions.
If you’re looking for days out in Essex, perhaps to fill the school holidays or as a seaside or countryside escape from London, read on to find out about everything from castles to coastal scenery, via big cats and the story of a Viking siege.
If you’re one of those Londoners looking for an easy escape from the city, how about turning it into a longer break by booking an outdoor stay? Camping and glamping can feel like great adventures for kids and adults alike – and they can often be great for a short break on a budget too. Pitchup has a great variety of places to stay, including peaceful farm sites and lively seaside holiday parks, so check out the full range to find the place for you.
Historic Colchester
It may not be on the radar as a day-trip destination for many people, but historic Colchester will give you a fascinating glimpse into 2000 years of Essex history. ‘Britain’s First City’, Colchester was the capital of 1st-century Roman Britain and is the UK’s oldest town on record; it was officially upgraded to city status in 2022 as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
And there’s nowhere better to start delving into that history than Colchester Castle, a sturdy fortress from the Norman era. With a great collection of displays including Celtic coin hoards, Roman mosaics, Norman paintings and Civil War armoury, this is undoubtedly one of the best places to visit in Essex for adults, but it’s also got plenty going on for kids. Come along at weekends or in the school holidays and they can get stuck in to crafts, mini building projects, dressing up – and maybe even firing a cannon.
Beyond the castle, you can also take a walking tour of Colchester’s Roman walls (a great free activity) and dip into the excellent Hollytrees Museum to delve into 300 years of local life for both rich and poor families. Alternatively, bring things right up to date with some time at the Firstsite contemporary art gallery – another great free place to visit.
Colchester Zoo
If you’re looking for the best things to do with the kids in Essex, Colchester Zoo surely has to be high up on that list. This fantastic attraction, about 10 minutes’ drive from the city centre, isn’t just one of the best in the UK, it’s a real world-class destination. For almost 60 years, the zoo has been home to many endangered and rare species including big cats, primates, birds, reptiles and invertebrates (currently numbering around 200).
Those animals live among 60 acres of parkland that’s been landscaped with the utmost concern and respect for the animals’ natural habitat – everything from the extremely rare white rhino to the elusive snow leopard from Siberia’s far east.
If you’ve got a special occasion to celebrate, boost your visit by booking one of the special experiences Colchester Zoo offers. From giraffe feeding to zookeeper experiences, there are plenty of ways to get closer to a more exotic world.
Constable country
You may feel like you’ve wandered into a painting when you arrive in Dedham or Flatford Mill – and in many ways you have, because these lovely locations remain almost unchanged from when they inspired the artist John Constable.
Amid the water meadows of the River Stour just by the Suffolk border, this is an Essex that is worlds away from popular perception. The Dedham Vale and Stour Valley National Landscape is a spectacularly scenic area, and walks here are among the best free days out in Essex – check out the official walking guides for some ideas of where to ramble.
Dedham village itself is incredibly handsome, lined with colourful wooden-beamed houses from way back in the 15th century. You can also visit the Munnings Art Museum before stopping for a pint at the renowned Sun Inn. Or, if wine tasting is more your thing, Dedham Vale Vineyard is very much worth a visit.
If you don’t fancy walking, hire a boat for an afternoon of drifting down the Stour – surely one of the best ways to spend a sunny day around here.
Mersea Island
Sunny days may well spur you to the Essex coast, and Mersea Island is a wonderful destination, with plenty to see and do. Just off the coast, south of Colchester, Mersea Island is connected to the mainland by a causeway called The Strood. Most of the time it’s easy to drive over, but you’ll need to check the tide times as high tide floods the road a couple of times per day, cutting off the access for a couple of hours.
Paddleboarding, kayaking, windsurfing and sailing are all readily available as alternatives to an afternoon lazing on the beaches in West Mersea or at Cudmore Grove Country Park. There are also some great walking trails on Mersea Island and it’s also home to a vineyard, a small brewery and plenty of places to try the area’s famous fresh oysters.
Maldon
The thousand-year-old coastal town of Maldon was first mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon epic poem recounting the Viking siege on the Blackwater in 991, making it one of the oldest recorded towns in Essex. Once a thriving port and mooring hub for Thames barges, it has since become one of the county’s more popular seaside destinations, and a great option for a family day out.
Maldon’s promenade park is home to a range of facilities including a splash park, adventure golf, tennis courts and a boating lake, with food stalls also dotted around its spacious, well-kept grass areas. It’s also well worth wandering along the town’s historic high street, visiting the Maeldune Heritage Centre and strolling along the quay for a sense of the town’s heritage.
A little way out of town, you can see lots of fascinating machinery in action at the Museum of Power and walk through the saltmarshes that produce the renowned Maldon Sea Salt.
Southend-on-Sea
Southend is a classic place for a family day out in Essex, and with good reason – there’s just so much to do. For starters, it’s home to the world’s longest pleasure pier at 1.3 miles long; you can either walk along it to reach the museum at the far end, or ride the narrow-gauge railway. You can also go fishing from Southend Pier, and it’s home to several places to eat and drink, plus the exceedingly silly Wacky Walk of Mirrors (giggles pretty much guaranteed…).
Elsewhere in Southend, you can meet local and exotic marine life at Sealife Adventure, try your luck at its many arcades or try out all the rides at Adventure Island, a free-entry theme park. Or, of course, there’s always the seven miles of beach…
Audley End
If you’re partial to wandering around a grand mansion, you simply must put Audley End House and Gardens on your list of things to do in Essex. This English Heritage site just outside Saffron Walden is one of England’s most splendid mansion houses, with plenty to see and do while you’re here.
Start with a house tour, in which you’ll learn what life was like both for the servants as well as the upper classes. Along the way you’ll visit the great hall, the private rooms and the service wing, and kids can dress up and play with replica toys in the nursery.
Outside, stroll around elegant Capability Brown-designed gardens and wander the surrounding acres of country park to visit the Elysian Garden, the Temple of Concorde and a memorial to the Polish resistance soldiers of World War II. Of course, sustenance for all this scenic and historic exploration is readily available at the two on-site cafés or in nearby Saffron Walden.
Coggeshall
With almost 200 listed buildings at its centre, many dating back to the 14th century, Coggeshall is an absolute must for those who delight in ‘olde worlde’ settings. Having grown wealthy from the wool, textile and silk industries of the 16th century, this market town near Braintree has been wonderfully preserved and makes a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon exploring its ancient laneways and streets.
Some of the top spots to seek out include Payecock’s House and Grange Barn, one of Europe’s oldest timber-framed buildings. You could also dip into Coggeshall Museum (open Sundays only), follow the Coggeshall Town Trail or take a wander along the banks of the Blackwater river before a pint of local ale in one of the town’s pubs.
With so much to see and do, Essex makes a great destination for a short break or a longer family holiday. And it’s also a wonderful option for an outdoor stay – after all, Essex is officially the driest county in the UK, so you’ve got a good chance of decent weather. Pitchup has a fabulous range of places to stay in Essex, from cheap camping pitches to seaside caravans to stylish glamping locations. Check out the full list below to find the place that suits you.