Herne Mill is a historic windmill, which is open on a number of days each year. Inside there is…read morequite a lot of original equipment from the mill. It is staffed by volunteers who are very knowledgable about the history and workings of the mill. Be warned, due to the very steep stairways this place is only suitable for the able bodied and those small enough to be carried!

For £1 you get to walk 3miles before treating yourself to food. The other option is £3 to take the…read moretrain. I did the walk simply because the sights, sounds, and smells really brought back memories of my childhood. Plus I wasn't in a rush to get anywhere. The Pier is located right in between adventure Island. It's pretty hard to miss considering it's quite massive and usually attracts the eyes of many tourists. I didn't actually see the waking option until the day of. I saw the train from a distance and my curiosity peeked. I wasn't even sure where the train was going but it was on a bridge heading somewhere. It's a beautiful experience and often times it's the locals that's venture out more than tourists. At the end, there's a few restaurants that serve fish and chips, coffee shops, washrooms and a mini museum.

£2 per person just to walk the pier. £5 something to walk one way and to take the train back. It's…read morethe longest pier in the world, 1.33 miles. It goes out really far. It's not too wide, there's a few seats along the way. There's nothing along the way, you just walk. cafes, stalls and a venue are all at the very end of the pier. I'm more used to piers that gave rides and arcade on the pier itself. But this is really nice too. No fishing going on from this pier. Someone told me you can see seals from the pier, but I didn't see any myself.

Interesting place to visit if you're in the area or really interested in anything to do with the…read moreRAF, WW2 or history. Lots of aviation pieces that show how certain parts of planes and helicopters are built. Plenty of photographs to display RAF Manston over the years. The museum also shows how people would have lived around the area during World War 2.

This place literally, knocked my socks off. A cousin of her Ladyships, surprised me with this…read moreplace, when we were staying with them in Broadstairs. Wow, soon as you walk in the door, there is a whole WWI plane sitting there. I probably, spent the first half hour, just walking around looking at that, and some of the cool stuff along the walls. This is also, the souvenir area, so I just had to purchase one of the hip flasks. I bought the one saying PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF, there was another option, KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. After spending money and time in this area, it was off to another area, with all types of aircraft, WWII, and later aircraft, jets, helicopters, (see pictures), etc. There was also, some awesome firepower outside. A tank, a jet and so many other historical weapons of war. The ladies, were with us, remarking "this is kind of a guys place." Couldn't agree more, would be a great place to visit if you have a boy or two in your family. Seriously, I could've spent all day here, but it was only our second or third day in England, so there were many more places and pubs to visit, and I was forced to move on.

Known as the 5 minute museum to locals, you can spend an amazing ammount of time in here if you…read moretake time to look at the exhibits. Entry is free, and they rotate different exhibits all around the year, and even got some of the Saxon King finds on display when they were discovered. Also featuring a planetarium, (a small fee applies), this museum is a great day out, (or at least an hour), and the small collection of merchandise they stock is reasonably priced. Each exhibit has a information card by them so you can educate and entertain, and the staff will usually have some more information that wasn't placed on the card due to space reasons.

For Southend the building that hosts Southend Museum is the last of its kind in this key avenue…read moretowards the centre of the town. Fortunately listed so hopefully this status will protect it from development if plans afoot to build a new museum on the seafront go ahead. Ok as with most buildings circa 1900 they did not build in disabled access, so where it can be provided it is, but generally the building is large but inaccessible for wheelchairs. The collections have interest for local and visitor alike, Southend's geograpical position means it has been a focus for both World Wars and displays of Zeppelins, or WWII bomb damage is readily available. This museum too has taken on board the need to interact with it's audience so an activity room with plenty of touchy-feely, and try-out is available. Upstairs a planetarium provides views into the solar system. This museum might not have the wow factor, but it does have passionate staff who know their stuff, interesting displays, and the knowledge that the display areas are too small for the huge collection behind the scenes, hence the need for a new site. This review would not be complete without mention of the Saxon King finds recently discovered north of Priory Park, that reside currently in London, but until Southend can provide adequate secure premises for the significant collection then the town will not see them back. For those contmplating a visit to the museum, do so, It is free, provides a handy half an hour stop off on the way to the shops or on the way back, a great respite if the weather is bad, plus you could learn something.

We visited the historic dockyard in Chatham as part of an event where day tickets were included. It…read moreis a fascinating place with hundreds of years of history, great exhibits on shipbuilding, fascinating historic ships to visit (the submarine is great)) and a working ropery. A lovely visit and a day is really not long enough!

I visited the Historic Dockyard in Chatham during the summer of 2008. Given that there was so much…read moreto see, it was worth the money. The huge car park outside, means it will be very unlikely that you will ever struggle to find a car parking space. There are three main attractions in the dockyard - the HMS Cavalier (a naval destroyer), HMS Ocelot (an submarine) and HMS Gannet (an old royal naval part steam/sale ship). If you want to tour the HMS Ocelot you may have to wait until there is a tour available as only limited numbers of people can safely fit aboard the submarine at any one time. The 80 acre site also offers a number of other exhibitions - Royal Naval Auxiliary Service Museum, the Royal Nation Lifeboat Association historic lifeboat collection and the Kent Police Museum. The site also houses the Museum of the Royal Dockyard, and the Ropery which still commercially makes rope today. An informative tour is available in the Ropery which is included in the admission price - if you volunteer you even get to help make bit of your own rope. You are booked on this tour when you purchase your tickets. If you are in the area, this is a pretty good attraction, although it doesn't really compare to the historic dockyard in portsmouth.

Located deep inside Priority Park, this museum is nothing compared to what it used to be now…read moreseeming like nothing more than an old building that you can walk around and look at the furniture. This museum needs to be publicised more and get in some of the larger exhibits, and perhaps form some form of collaboration with other local museums in the area such as the Central Museum near the Southend Town Centre, and perhaps share exhibits and information, perhaps offer some sort of buy-out. The museum itself is decently laid out with some small exhibits from (very) Old Leigh, and provide information on the local area over the past centuries, as well as the museum itself, of which the staff are very educated on. It's not a day out, but if you're spending some time in the park and the museum is open, it's well worth a peek inside for 15-20 minutes.

The museum has recently been completely refurbished and renewed now telling the story of the…read morerestored Priory. Old reviews before 2012 are out of dated now. Lovely building with very interesting story told of monks and their lives in a fascinating building. Well worth seeing.

Such a delight to have a RHS Garden in the county of Essex. I would say a car is essential to…read moreaccess Hyde Hall as located off winding roads and up a very steep hill. Have reserved disabled parking spaces, but need to get there early as once they are full up, a problem for those with wheelchairs. Like everything, admission prices can seem expensive, but as a special treat, on a beautiful summers day, well worth the money. Fantastic views. Gardens are always a delight and give the novice gardener ideas to take back to more modest gardens. Enjoy a break in the tea shop. Browse the plant centre. Great photo opportunity.

Went to the Essex Air Ambulance Craft Fair at Hyde Hall today and what a huge transformation has…read moretaken place in the last year. The new visitor centre is smart and airy and the car park neat and practical. Although a long way from the gardens, the visitor centre is served by a frequent mini-bus service; recommended for the old, infirm (and lazy) as the walk is a bit steep! Beautifully laid out gardens which have clearly had a lot of investment recently, give wonderful views of the surrounding area and Essex isn't that bad! Definitely worth another visit when more flowers are in bloom!

To the new visitor to this far corner of England, will wonder what this park is, but if you…read moreunderstand it's not too distant past then it might be accepted. So expect, a seafront location, lots of flat green area. Then find small lakes and a War history of bunkers dotted along the coast, then you start to discover a new angle to this area. The former Garrison is now deserted of military and Gladedale are busy building through on the area while preserving the military history. Consider looking out over the sea from this point and into the yonder the next shore line depending wher you point could be Belgium or indeed Germany, so you can understand the sensitivity of this area, and the lengths taken to defend this from invasion whether by air or sea, so strong elements of this are in place but left generally to the elements. I feel if this was Dover this would be bristling with tourists being guided over the area and explaining the issues of warfare; this could be for another future year. As a park goes, don't think conventional swings and gardens, but maybe consider exploring into new areas and taking in new views.

I've gigged here on open-air events, and aside from the crowd being amazing, so was the scenery…read more Situated very near a lorry yard where my Father used to work and some small pubs and a couple of shops, Gunner's Park is located within a minute's walking distance of several busy bus routes, and is easy to get to. The park is most famous for it's cannon situated at the entrance, hence the name. Several events are held there all year, both corperate, and public.