Things to do with pre-school children and toddlers in Essex.
Farms, Animals & Play
Lambing season is well underway and here in Essex, you're never far away from an absolute gem of a farm; where you might get to get involved with feeding the baby lambs or if you're incredibly lucky, witness them coming into the world.
This farm out in Braintree is our absolute favourite purely for the interactive access to the animals such as cows, lamb and sheep, goats pigs and many more. As well as being invited to pet various animals and even walk amongst some, such as the goats, they have some incredibly well-informed farm staff on hand who share their knowledge and offer excellent demonstrations. Again these are participatory and the children are invited to feed, and hold some unusual small birds and animals.
We visited at Easter last year and had a fabulous time. Boydells is very reasonably priced too - £6.00 per adult, and £5.00 per child with under 3's no charge. They have a lovely farm shop on site too so be prepared to buy something tasty to remember your trip.
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| Bridget feeding the sheep at Boydells Farm |
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| Beatrice feeding the goats at Boydells Farm |
We love Barleylands and have visited quite frequently - it's situated in the middle of Billericay and Basildon and whilst it's a bit pricier than somewhere like Boydell's, it does have a lot to offer. They also have an interactive farm, with daily times for petting and watching feeding, which is great but there is quite a more included here. They have a designated reptile house, birds of prey and a walk-through aviary too. They also in summer time do funny activities such as goat-racing which is great fun.
Dotted around Barleylands are a ton of little play houses and park equipment and they have a big undercover soft play area too, as well as a farm museum area. Peak prices are £12.00 for adults and £11.00 for children with no charge for under 2's.They do offer off-peak discounts.
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| Bridget at Barleylands |
Marsh Farm (££)
Situated in South Woodham Ferrers, Marsh Farm, has been on our radar for a while, but we only recently visited for the first time on Beatrice's 2nd birthday on a freezing cold weekend in February.
We visited as they had a character day taking place; Peppa Pig; which was just a meet and greet with a fancy dress Peppa. If you are visiting purely for the character days - be warned it's a queue to meet them and have a photo but there is no other character-fun throughout the day. However the rest of the farm was an absolute marvel and we'd return, no question. I've included more details here.
They have a wide variety of farm animals - including some newborn lamb and piglets, which was so nice the children (and us) to see. They also have some more unusual animals in alpacas and llamas - which apparently they offer live interactive experiences with in the warmer months.
Their outdoor adventure playground is impressive and huge - if it hadn't been for bracing cold wind, it would have my girls entertained for hours. We instead indoors to the massive soft plat area, where i enjoyed a welcome and decent hot chocolate and the girls (and Glen) ran around and burnt off tons of energy as well as warming up.
There are loads more little added extras at Marsh Farm - they have a little digger and truck park which the girls love, a tractor ride, and a fun jewel hunting activity in a sandpit. They also have massive bouncy pillows, crazy golf, an aviary and a maze and a couple of children's fairground rides - cups and saucers and a carousel.
All of these activities are included within entry price which I think offers excellent value for money with tickets priced at £13.75 and under two's going free.
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| Baby lamb at Marsh Farm |
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| Meet and greet with Peppa Pig at Marsh Farm |
Colchester Zoo (£££)
We absolutely love Colchester Zoo - it's one of our favourite treat days out with the children. As well as the fantastic array of animals for the children to view, which never fails to entertain, there are also several shows and animal demonstrations throughout the day.
One of the most exciting activities throughout the day, is the participatory giraffe and elephant feeding which the children are invited to take part in and absolutely love.
There's an impressive set of adventure playgrounds and soft play areas too, which are ideal if you get a spot of rain, or like us, have a bit of a drive home and want to wear the kids out to build up to a well-timed nap in the car journey home.
Colchester Zoo is priced at £18.99 per adult and £14.99 per child with no charge for under three's, with an online discount if you book in advance. They frequently do special offers too and whilst it's one of the more expensive days out in this round-up it is competitively priced in relation to other zoos.
Essex Seaside Funfairs
Surely the undisputed king of the Essex seaside fair, Southend is infamous, far wider than just Essex folk. Adventure Island is one of my childhood favourites and my girls have to come to love it as much as me and my brothers did back in the 80's and 90's.
It is slightly more expensive than others, granted, with wristbands priced between £15.00-£22.50 depending on height for unlimited rides, if purchased online prior to visiting, and slightly more if bought on the day.
What Adventure Island does well, is appeal to a multiple of ages - from pre-school tots like mine, right up to the more thrill-seeking teenagers, there really is something for everyone. Bridget loves the American Whip ride - which I also loved as a kid.
Southend has a ton of amusement arcades, if that is your thing, a stretch of beach for the children to play on, and boasts the longest pleasure pier in the world if you fancy a stroll. They have some great places to grab fish and chips including Fisherman's Wharf and Cafe Rebecca and if it's seaside donuts you're after, look no further than Pebbles One - which has been there for longer than I can remember.
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| The American Whip ride at Southend's Adventure Island |
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| Ice cream on Southend seafront |
Walton Pier was a regular haunt of ours, when I was a child, as we had a caravan for some time in nearby Dovercourt. I vividly remember our trips here and when I returned more recently with my own children, very little had changed, but that is part of the charm.
The fun fair on the pier seems to have stood still in time - some of the rides there, I recall from 25 years ago, but it still ticks the boxes. Actually if you have pre-schoolers like mine, it offers great value for money at £10.00 for a wristband, with unlimited rides.
The beach at Walton is a sandy one and I can vouch is a great place to host a picnic. They also have a few places for fish and chips and the like, but it is a lot less commercial than the Southend seafront area.
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| Age old rides at Walton Pier |
Canvey Island (£)
I had to include Canvey Island as a great, inexpensive option for a family day out.
Leisure Island fun fair has tons to offer small children and the wrist bands for unlimited rides are a extremely economical at only £5.00 per child. They have a great selection of suitable fairground rides for pre-schoolers, as well as trampolines all included in that price, and it's ideal for the under 5's.
Canvey does have a small beach to explore, with a crabbing pool included and there are a couple of amusement arcades on the seafront too.
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| The girls enjoying Leisure Island, Canvey Island |
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| Bridget at Canvey Island Leisure Island |
Nature Trails & Forests
The Peter Rabbit Woodland Trail in Langdon, close to Basildon, is a stunning nature reserve set over 460 acres of Essex countryside. With meadows, a huge fishing lake packed with fish, birds and various wildlife alongside picturesque and well-kept gardens, it's an appealing prospect for the grown ups.
The Peter Rabbit Woodland Trail is the star attraction for the little ones though. It features special clues along the woodland route in order to help you find the wooden figures of Beatrix Potter's most famous characters.
You can purchase a map with additional clues and activities for only £1, but you could easily do it without, especially if you only have tiny tots that wouldn't be able to complete the activities.
There is also an enclosed picnic area, so you could pack a few sandwiches and treats and make a day of it. I can also vouch for the decent lemon drizzle cake which is served in their sweet little tea room.
There's a wooden play area with climbing apparatus too.
The trail and entire reserve is free entry and there is no charge for parking - but they do run on donations, so you are invited to make a donation, should you wish.
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| Bridget and Beatrice at The Peter Rabbit Woodland Trail finding Benjamin Bunny |
Thorndon Country Park, in Brentwood is a fabulous and sprawling park set over 500 acres and known for it's wildlife - particularly some unusual birds, such as siskins and bramblings.
It is also home to The Gruffalo Trail - which is very similar in notion to The Peter Rabbit Woodland Trail in that you are given clues and walk a path with a map (available for 50p) to find the characters from Julia Donaldson's Gruffalo series of books. We are huge Gruffalo fans in our household so the girls really enjoyed it when we visited recently.
It takes around 45 minutes and there is plenty to explore along the way aside from finding Fox, Owl and of course, the Gruffalo himself.
There is a lovely little cafe in Thorndon Country Park too - their homemade parsnip soup is delicious.
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| Bridget and Beatrice finding the Gruffalo's Child at The Gruffalo Trail |
Situated close to our home, and one of both mine and Glen's childhood haunts, Hainault Forest, in Redbridge is a great place for family fun.
It's an excellent place for children to explore, climb on logs and trees, run around freely and undertake a nature trail finding various natural treasures - anything from spotting wild mushrooms, finding a feather, pine cone or shiny pebble to various bugs and insects. Within the forest itself, some more dexterous adventurers have even created some dens and wigwam-type creations, which the kids love to explore too.
There are masses of grassland too - for just running around, kicking a ball or throwing a frisbee. You could even set up a family game of rounders or cricket.
The huge fishing lake is home to tons of wildlife, which makes for interesting viewing too, but the big attraction at Hainault, at least for my children is the farm area. It's changed loads over the years, but is currently home to some pigs, alpacas, pony and a load of meerkat as well as a variety of poultry and birds.
Aside from paying a small charge to park there are no additional costs so this is a cheap option for a family day out.
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| Farm area at Hainualt Forest Country Park |
Other Options
There are some great options for family activities in Essex that won't make a full day out but might inspire a few hours of fun and I've listed these out below.
Moby Golf - a whale and aquatic themed crazy golf course in the Chadwell Heath/Romford area.
Soft Play - spoilt for choice there are tons dotted all over Essex - our favourites for pre-schoolers are Owl's Play Centre in Fairlop and Partyman World, at Lakeside Shopping Centre.
Trampoline Parks - again there are tons of these now and with pre-schoolers in tow, it's best to check for specific times that won't be hectic with older and likely more boisterous children, but going during school time seems to be a winner. Some of the places we've tried out and enjoyed are Jump Street in Chelmsford and Jump Evolution in Romford which has a designated under 5 area.
Ice Skating - again check for the designated pre-school times, to avoid being on the ice with tons of older children and adults. Saphire Ice and Leisure in Romford offers a few of these times.
I'm sure I've probably left out a few places - please do comment with any must-do family days out in Essex that you know.
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