Through my adventures in seeking the most amazing outlet shops ever, I heard about Braintree Freeport. Technically, it is the closest outlet shop to me (1 hr by train away) however, it is so far away from the greater London area, I had to buy another ticket to get to it. My boyfriend kept asking me if the bargains justify the train fare. In the end I only bought one dress, thus I felt it was not worth it. I'm sure visiting Braintree in the summer would be a better idea than trekking out there in search of discounts right after Christmas. Compared to London Designer Outlet (Wembly), which has newer and cleaner facilities, Braintree Freeport is more spread out and less bargains. I may give it a second chance in the summer when the weather is nicer. Not braving this outdoor outlet in the winter times. read more

Although I HATE SHOPPING. I managed to pick up a couple of bargains. Boat shoes down from £49.50 to £25 and a pair of Chinos for the holiday. No more needed coz I HATE SHOPPING read more

I love the Starbucks here, The Works and the smell of the Cadbury shop, but what I hate is the fact that most of the shops are clothing/women's/shoes and all of that stuff. I do recommend but you might get bored constantly going there. read more

When Freeport first opened, it was the nuts. Quite literally, it had everything you could ever want at LOW prices. They had tons of DESIGNER outlets which allowed you to purchase all the decent gear without breaking your bank. They even had food outlets, like thorntons and now cadburys etc. There was then some controversy. The Burberry shop, wasnt actually connected to Burberry. This was way back before Burbeerry was taken on to the Chavtastic level it can be worn now. It was selling fakes, and to be honest i think it proabbly still is. I do not set foot in there, mainly because most of their styles are chavvy with the blatent all over check style which screams cheap. But also because i personally think they are still fake. The designs are nothing like Burberry, and are more like the original Thomas Burberry, which has since been revamped. Slowly but surely, the outlets shut and were replaced by more normal outlets. Armani shut, Versace shut. In their place? Pilot, sports and soccer, and other high street designs. Dont get me wrong, you can get some great bargains there. But i wouldnt consider it a 'Designer' outlet any longer, which is what it opened as. There are all different styles of shops, jewellers, CD shops, Clothes and accessories, house ware, and sports. SO you are sure to find something you want! Still a good day out for most though, i do tend to get annoyed with the 'jumble sale' you can get in most shops, and find you really need to hunt for the bargains because i dont find most of the shops any cheaper. And most i havent heard of! But my mum/aunts etc always seem to find enough to keep them going for hours. Food is extremely expensive there though, unless you go burger king, it costs something like £2 for a GLASS of coke. It is very modern and clean there though :) read more

Freeport in Braintree is a retail outlet and has loads of shops and all the prices are dirt cheap. Some great saving to be had. Is just off of the A120. Search for them on google and you can see the amount of shops in there. I love going there and so does my girlfriend, it normally takes us about 2-3 hours to have a good look round. read more

Freeport Braintree - Outlet Stores Near Me - Braintree, ESS

Has slipped in recent years - lots of the original designer shops have closed and been replaced by the likes of M & S, Next, JJB Sports etc. Still some bargains to be had but they need looking for. Expensive to eat in the VIllage itself - better off going across road to the complex with Cineworkd etc. Not worth spending a lot of time at unless you don't mind browsing for bargains read more

Freeport Designer Village is very picturesque, located in Braintree, Essex. The village has it's own train station & buses service the area regularly. The villiage has designer store that sell some items cheaper than they would be in regular stores. There are not many of the original stores there anymore but you can still find some bargains. There is a large nike town & body shop, also a lot of stores that sell household items. Its worth a visit for a day out but I would avoid eating in some of the restaurants as they can be quite expensive read more

Clarks Outlet store: I always use clarkes for shoes for my children as their fitting and service I find to be excellent. However i would not use this one! Staff I have found to be most unhelpful and very reluctanct to actually measure feet. which seem bizarre in a shoe shop! The store is quite unorganised where customers have tried on shoes and left them in the wrong places and staff do not replace correctly! Also the range is very poor understandably to some extent as this is an outlet store but then I would hope prices would reflect this. However shoes are on average only a small percentage cheaper! I for one would much rather pay the little extra and get all the benefits of service from the branch in read more

Freeport in Braintree is suppose to be a discount brands outlet. The parking there isnt great, its often hard to find a place to park espically at the weekend. The shops there include Nike shop, Next, cadburys, they are the only decent shops there i can think of! I dont know why they call it a discount outlet as the prices seem the same as everywhere esle to me! But they do have a Burger King there! Yummy! It pretty small there too it only takes me and my OH about 45 mins to walk round there! read more

Freeport has lots of shops that offer discounts on designer clothes - there is an M & S and Next where the clothes are quite a bit cheaper than the normal shops - there's a Clarks shoe shop where you can get a few pounds of shoes and boots - all in all whatever you want you can have a good browse round the place and you're bound to find something worthwhile at a good price read more

free port was the best place ever, still is if you are going there for the kids. however if you like shopping with out the bruises then here is not for you!! it is quite expensive now too so you expect a bargin, not the case. it is well layed out and not easy to get lost and a nice day out. the food is good but it is expensive i couldnt belive some of the prices. i love going there for the kids though. thier trainers are great and leave my kids feet looking new even after they have grown out of them. i get cheap kids clothes there too. i love the next shop too oh my god thats like a constant next sale, if ya a fan of next like me you will love it!! read more

Not as good as it once was. There used to be a wider variety of shops available including great designer names. There are still a few left but mostly stores selling supposed brand names I have never heard of. I do enjoy shopping here as clothes tend to be uniquely designed and often a better fit than those of the high street. The prices are very reasonable for the quality of the clothes. The Thorntons store is very good as you can buy broken and mismatched chocolates for a great cheap price and the taste is still the same. The Burger King and other restaurants are very quiet so you get very good quick service and there is plenty of room to chose and sit down. The car park is huge so always space to park. The mall itself is quite attractive and pleasant to walk around. read more

Meh! Went there after hearing about it for years but I'll be honest I wasn't impressed, most places didn't seem very cheap and there was a distinct lack of choice in every shop. The Reebok shop provided the best value as 1 other reviewer said. I managed to get myself a pair of trainers for £20 less than the RRP but I'm sure that would be available online and certainly wasn't worth the 1hr 40min drive from North London. read more

It never ceases to amaze me how this place stays open and how it continues to attact people. Despite living in the area, I must have visited the shopping side a total of 3 times since it opened and having revisited the experience 2 days ago, I didn't see anything to change my initial view. Nothing of any worth to buy and both Next and M&S only have goods which are still pricey despite being ex-sale and look to be ever so slightly faulty and out of season - although I suppose that's what the place is all about. The one good shop there is is Reebok - (that's if you're not after the latest trainers of course) - and the Nike shop, although despite being similar, is quite substantially more expensive. Personally, I shall continue to visit the restaurant side only unless I need a new pair of trainers. On a more positive note, a couple of shops for kids and a newsagent - so you could buy a drink somewhere other than a restaurant or cafe - would make this venue 2 stars for me and a better selection of clothes and shops would push it up to 4. read more

Freeport based just outside Braintree and offering a suttle service to the Town Centre. More than just a Outlet Centre also a Reatil Park, Cinema, Bowling and several well known resturants. I normally go to Freeport when my children need shoes as they have a great Clarks shoe shop offering at least 1/3 off shop prices. we also like several of the other shops like M7 S, Ted Baker, Nike and Next. You can easily spend a couple of hours overhere. Parking is a lot better since they opened a second carpark. Overall a great range of shops offering great prices. read more