The Hare and Hounds

Now, resist the urge to stay in the pub all day… Kids with you? Colchester Zoo (five minutes’ drive) will easily entertain youngsters for the day, thanks to its animal encounters and mini-train rides. Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park (35 minutes) is another corker for families, as it's packed with kids’ activities at the petting farm. Get out and about in the fresh air with a trip to the sand-and-shingle beach at West Mersea (20 minutes’ drive) for paddling and swimming. Up the activity ante with kitesurfing off Clacton beach (40 minutes), or have a giggle on the inflatable floating climbing course at Curve Water Sports (40 minutes). For more sedate days out in nature, take your binoculars to the Essex Wildlife Trust’s Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park (five minutes) to spot all manner of wading birds, or see if you can catch sight of hen harriers or plovers at Blackwater Estuary National Nature Reserve (25 minutes). Head for Dedham (25 minutes) to see equine paintings in The Munnings Art Museum, and abandon the car in Flatford and Constable Country (half an hour) for strolls along the River Stour to Flatford Mill, made famous by John Constable’s painting ‘The Haywain’.