Five cheap days out in Essex with toddlers
A UK staycation destination that has surprised us is Essex. ‘Essex?’, I hear you say. Yes, it may not be top of the most obvious UK family holiday destinations but we had a great time with plenty of options for family fun. If you are looking for cheap days out in Essex with toddlers, read on for some ideas:
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A cheap day out in Essex: Jimmy’s Farm
We loved our visit to the home of Jimmy Doherty’s farm-inspired television series and I have written a separate post about our sday out at Jimmy’s Farm about it. Considering the variety of things to do at the farm and the fact you could easily spend a whole day meeting animals, building dens and fishing with Dolly, we thought it was great value for money. Entrance for a family of four was £16 and under twos go free. Prices correct at the time of our visit in 2015
Traditional seaside fun at Clacton Pier
If you like good old-fashioned seaside fun then Clacton Pier is a great destination. Entrance to the pier is free and you can spend as little or as much money as you’d like (or your kids allow). There are wristbands for unlimited fairground rides that can be bought online for £9.80 per adult and £5.60 for kids. Tin Box Tot let us get away with spending just a few pounds on some of the smaller ‘pay as you go’ rides and an ice cream. There’s also bowling, an aquarium and boat excursions if you want to pay a little more.
Free fun in Essex at Castle Park Colchester
Climb The Naze and Tower
The Naze Tower is an historic 86ft navigation landmark at Walton-on-the-Naze. It has eight floors and is home to art gallery, a museum, tea rooms and a roof viewing platform. We visited on a very blustery day and had brunch in the cafe before climbing all the way to the top of the tower for panoramic views of the coastline. The Naze beach below is renowned for fossils but sadly the tide was too far up for us to go hunting. Entrance to the tower is £2.50 for adults, £1.50 for children and under fours are free.
A free beach day at Little Holland beach, Holland-on-Sea
We had two beach days during our stay in Essex, both at Little Holland to the north of Clacton in Holland-on-Sea. The beach is a combination of shingle and sand so great for building sand castles. There was a handy cafe where you could buy a coffee for just £1 and there were toilets close by too. Parking cost us £5 for the day.
Have you holidayed in this part of the UK? What cheap days out in Essex would you recommend?
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If it wasn't for someone else suggesting it to us I don't think we would have gone but there is a lot to do. We easily filled two weeks with days out and relaxing at Tin Box x
Ha, yes! My view of Essex was a bit tainted by TOWIE before we visited but there's a lot more to Essex than Brentwood 🙂 x
I think it's always worth trying a staycation every now and again. Kent is lovely. I haven't been for a while but there's some great family festivals in that area that I'd like to try x
We didn't go to Flatford Mill this time but I'd love to sometime.
I'm exactly the same. There are loads of places on my doorstep that I've never been to or it's been a while!
I hope I've inspired you if you do ever find yourself that way 🙂 x
It's not an obviously holiday choice but I think a lot of people will have heard of Clacton and been to the area 🙂
I never even been to Essex and would never have thought of it as a holiday destination! Silly me, there's so much great stuff there is to there 🙂 Thanks for linking up to #TheList xxx
I don't know Essex at all! Even though I have friends from the area! I think TOWIE has a lot to answer for, so glad that your list highlights the positives of this lovely county! We went to Clacton Pier last year and really had a great day! Great list for anyone planning a visit. Thanks for linking up with #MondayEscapes
We had a holiday in Kent last year (saving for this year) and had a great time, sometimes you don't need to go abroad to have a great holiday. We have not tried Essex yet but may well do so in the future. Thank you for sharing some great ideas 🙂 #MondayEscapes x
This has taken me back to a lovely trip to Clacton when my son was little. I remember being on the pier when the lifeboat was launched.
Constable country is wonderful too – Flatford Mill very pretty.
I think we often forget to play at tourists in our own area, and there is often much to see and do close to home. Nice highlights on the different places you have enjoyed. #countrykids
I'm not sure if I have ever been to Essex, looks like there is plenty to do though. Thanks for linking to #TheList x
There are so many amazing places to see in Essex, gosh I haven't been to Clacton for years, but have spent many a happy holiday there x
Glad it's helpful! I'm sure there's lots more to see too. I would have liked to have gone in the Castle at Colchester and seen more of Constable's countryside but we'll do those another time.
It's a bit ridiculous that even though it's one of the next counties over (albeit from the other side of London), I hardly know Essex at all – but this is good to get me started!