This is a bit of a hidden gem, which I'm really pleased we found. We took a random day trip to…read moreLeigh on Sea and on our way back my boyfriend navigated me on a detour. I'd seen a castle on the map but assumed there would be gates and a fee and seeing as it was early evening I expected it to be closed. My boyfriend knows that I love castles so thought we could chance it. We parked up at the end of a country lane by a cafe, farm and craft village (which had already closed) and took a walk along a pretty footpath. It's only a few minutes walk before you get to the castle, well ruins of, and it's a beautiful sight. It's owned by English Heritage but free for anyone and everyone to visit. There's no visitor centre, gift shop or ticket office which adds to the charm of this place. It's lovely and surrounded by hills and fields so unspoilt. It was dusk when we were there but could read the few unobtrusive signs with the history of the castle. The views to the sea were lovely too. This would be the perfect place for a picnic (make sure you take your rubbish home) out to watch the sun set from. It's not a whole day out but worth a visit if you're in the area. I loved it.

I have visited Hadleigh Castle numerous times since I was a little nipper and I still love to go…read morethere, admittedly the castle is ruinous but it still has great prominence looking out over the estuary. The views from the castle are great looking out over Canvey Island and towards Kent. From this point there is some good walks to be had, from walking to Two Tree Island or walking into Old Leigh and eating some fresh seafood. Or you can just set down a blanket and have a picnic, be warned though it can get a bit windy, but if you tuck yourself up in one of the alcoves of the ruins, it should not be too much of a problem. As the area is quite hilly, it is great for off-road cycling or grab a football or frisbee and play in the open green area. It is also very close to the Salvation Army farm, so a visit to Hadleigh Castle is a great time outdoors for all the family.

A lovely place to go if you enjoy going for peaceful walks on your own, with your family or with a…read morefour-legged companion, although it's very easy to get lost if you don't know your way around as it's not very well sign-posted. It's great for wildlife watching as they have a few bird hides (sometimes used by BBC's Springwatch) and you can see all sorts of creatures if you're lucky. If you don't go on the right day then sometimes not everything's open so if you're going for a specific reason check their website first. Many, many years ago I stayed here with a group of Girl Guides and they loved the place, although they got scared by the stories of ghosts and haunted cottages!

I love wat Tyler Park. I used to go there often when I was small and even now I'm an adult it's…read morestill a nice place to go. There's more than enough to have a really big picnic with plenty of room to play games and not interfere with anyone else's picnic. There's plenty of places to buy an ice cream or something more substantial and the prices are reasonable. There's also some very nice little craft shops and galleries. There's alsoa boat museum which is worth a visit!

Recommend an early morning to take in Belfairs Woods, especially now when the weather is ok in fact…read morequite stimulating. The woods are flat and caress an active golf course, as well as a horse riding school. The attraction is the open wooded space, the friendly squirrels and Jay's (bird) both try and hustle us for food, and not a bad thought as we had come pocketful of monkey nuts and yes we were the most welcome bods in the woods this morning. Simply great fun and strangely healthy.

A beautiful open space that is particularly lovely in Autumn. There is adequate parking which is…read morefree. There are a range of facilities at Belfairs including a riding stables and riding for the disabled, a cafe / restaurant, bowls club and pay per use golf. The golf course is the only down-side to walking in these woods - just as you start to feel like you are escaping into the peace of the woods you come across another part of the golf course and have to ensure children don't run out onto the greens - many of the paths go very close. The woods also have bridleways for horses and cycle paths which are signposted and mostly segregated. As others have mentioned there are lots of very tame squirrels.

A nice place that I love to take my 6 year old to in the milder weather…read more The childrens playground has just been modernised with more exciting apparatus for the kids to explore. A word of warning here, this also makes it a magnet for the teenage 'hoodies' who dispite their age still attend the park and often hog the rides as 'there is nothing else for them to do', bless. There is a large duck pond and cricket pitch which is sometimes used by the Essex cricketers for matches. The cafe is a little rundown but is popular and serves hot and cold food upon request. The park has a set of toilets which as expected leave a lot to be desired. There is adequate parking in the immediate area on road and also a carpark which is fairly large.

It's not Priory Park, but it's still a park you should definatly check out…read more Featuring a lake/duck-pond and childrens play areas for the children, and open areas for adults to have a kick-about or to just relax and enjoy the scenery, it's definatly a nice place to waste some time when you've got a lazy day. The cafe is a bit dingy, and although it seems to be rarely open is in major need of an over-haul and renovation from the ground-up. The car park does often fill up quickly during school holidays, so you may very well have to look for alternate parking, especially if you're driving something like a Chelsea Tractor, AKA Land Rover, and need half a mile to park the thing, so it's best to drive around the local area and find an alternate spot, as the provided car-park area is full of people with very poor parking skills it seems.

Absolutely beautiful place for walk in the woods. Nice little food shack near one of the ponds…read more with sandwiches and cakes to enjoy if you get a little peckish on your walk. By far one of my favourite dog walks.

Lovely park for adults and children of all ages. There's lots to do here, a small zoo, 2…read moreplaygrounds with rides, cricket pitch, tennis courts, football fields and general open spaces for picnics etc. Every year there's also a fair who set up. I have very fold memories growing up and cycling to the park and again meeting friends tehre when I grew up a bit and was allowed out by myself.

If you're thinking of going to Marsh Farm, make sure you go in spring and take advantage of theri…read morebreeding program - there's always so many adorable baby animals! The Farm also runs various themed weekend full of activities that are fun for all the family and very educational. It's fairly cheap to enter, compared to other similar attractions. Definitely take children, of all ages, there's something for everyone and is always worth a visit. But beware - it is nature - some of the animals do smell!

We visited whilst work was being done to improve the facility…read more Found certain attractions had limited access. (Although I'm sure this will return to normal) Was also a bit unlucky as almost every animal appeared to be asleep on our visit :-( Positives: Good parking. Good access for parent and/or disabled. Great for kids over the age of 2 as have bouncy castle type attractions. Plenty to do for a morning or afternoon visit. Negatives: Food and drinks etc were quite expensive. Had to leave the farm to use the baby change toilet outside by the entrance. Not much for young children under the age of 2.