Visit Essex encourages residents to support local businesses and give experiences this Xmas

29th November 2022

Visit Essex, the county’s tourism body, is encouraging the people of Essex to support local businesses and ‘wrap-up’ gift experiences for family and loved ones this Christmas.

Cllr Mark Durham, Chair of Visit Essex, explains: “This year we want to inspire the people of Essex to not only support local businesses but also give family members and loved ones a special experience. The experiential gift market is on the rise and as Essex has so many attractions and places to go from Alpaca trekking to escape rooms, it’s time to treat loved ones to something different this year!” 

Treats for animal lovers  
Treat animal lovers to a trek with alpacas at Lathcoats farm in Chelmsford with ‘All Things Alpaca’. Adults and children can, take alpacas for a walk through their beautiful orchards for £22 per child and £32 per adult.

Topping many a family’s wish list is an annual pass to Colchester Zoo, where you can visit as many times as you like for the whole year, priced £49.99 for children and £69.99 for adults. There’s also plenty of animal experiences to buy, such as ‘Zookeeper for a day’, or a Zoo Cadet, and these experiences start at £85. Colchester Zoo also offers ‘adopt an animal’ schemes, which start from £45. 

Escape in Essex
Escape rooms are the activity for 2023, and players can test their knowledge against various 60-minute puzzles. At Hedingham Castle, help find Santa’s missing suit up until the end of January 2023, or try their immersive escape room where players must recover the King’s treasure. 

With ‘Know Escape’ in Maldon, Witham and Chelmsford, you can either take on the challenge to rob a bank of all its gold or stay overnight to solve puzzles and unlock riddles. Sci-fi fans should head over to, ‘Escape Live’, and try out a Star Wars-inspired puzzle in Chelmsford, or for younger family members, help find Tarquin the parrot in an outdoor escape room experience around Southend-on-Sea.

Adrenalin-filled fun! 

Go white water rafting at Lee Valley White Water Centre on the Essex/Herts border. The centre hosted the London 2012 Olympics, so ride the white water and take on the rapids. Gift vouchers start at £16.  

Pick up gift vouchers (from £15) for Curve Water Sports in St Osyth, where your daredevil friend can enjoy anything from wakeboarding and kayaking to stand up paddleboarding. 

Adrenaline lovers will love an annual membership to Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea, where they can board the famous rollercoaster and visit countless times throughout the year, starting at £15. 

Garden enthusiasts
Treat green-fingered friends to a gift that will last all year! Beth Chatto’s Plants & Gardens near Colchester is famed for its award-winning gravel gardens and beautifully designed green spaces. Seasonal membership to the visitor attraction starts from £35, or you can buy gift vouchers, from £10 for loved ones to spend on plants. 

RHS Hyde Hall near Chelmsford also offers one-year membership (£71). Garden enthusiasts can watch the changing seasons at the stunning gardens, which boast colourful plants throughout the year. 

Explore heritage!
For those with a passion for culture and heritage, Colchester Castle offers a Castle Pass to residents of the city at just £6.75 for children aged 4-16 and £11.95 for adults, passholders can visit the Norman keep countless times throughout the year. Hedingham Castle also offers an annual season ticket for unlimited access to the grounds and castle, priced from £38 (adults) and £69 families.

Set sail on an estuarine adventure aboard a traditional Thames Sailing Barge with Topsail Charters in Maldon, tickets start from £30. Head out on a ‘Bird Watching Cruise’ with experts who can point out the various species, or go for a brunch, cream tea or a Sunday roast package cruise along the river Blackwater.

Foodies tasty Xmas treat
Anyone for tea? The Essex-based English Cream Tea Company offers gift tins with a range of tasty treats from £15.95 or luxury hampers that start at £34.95. Afternoon tea is also available at their tearoom at The Rodings, or purchase an etiquette masterclass to learn to dine like a King! 

Step into the Essex countryside and experience a wine tasting and tour at one of the county’s many vineyards. Located near Burnham-on-Crouch, Crouch Ridge vineyard is set on gentle south facing slopes overlooking the river. They produce fine wines and serve up local food with a great viewing platform to bask in river views. Tours take place on selected dates from 27th May 2023, and prices start from £15 per person. 

Add the Christmas fizz with a trip to award-winning Saffron Grange vineyard, near Saffron Walden, which produces premium quality wines. Guests can learn about what goes into creating their unique taste on an informative tour; ‘Try Flight’ Sparkling Wine tasting for just £9.50 per person where all three of their sparkling wines can be sampled.

To find out more, head to https://www.visitessex.com/things-to-do. 
ENDS

Notes to Editor:

THINGS TO DO 
Hedingham Castle Escape Room – Halstead, Essex
Games range from 2-8 players and cost from £18 per person, depending on group size. Availability for the Christmas-themed escape room finishes on 29th January. 

Know Escape – Maldon, Witham and Chelmsford, Essex
Games range from 2-10 players and cost from £14.90 per person, dependent on group size. Availability for Christmas-themed games ends on 8th January 2023. 

Escape Live – Southend and Chelmsford, Essex
Number of players ranges from 1-8 and prices start at £16 per person. 

Beth Chatto’s Plants & Gardens – Colchester, Essex
The gardens are open Thursday-Saturday, 10am-4pm. Pre-booked tickets are £12.50 for adults, £6.50 for students and £3.50 for children aged 2-16. Buying tickets on the day from the Visitor Information Centre is a £1 surcharge. There’s free entry for NHS workers, Bluelight Cardholders, Defence Discount Service Cardholders and Carers. Single seasonal memberships are £35, double seasonal memberships are £50.

RHS Garden Hyde Hall – Chelmsford, Essex
Memberships are 25% off in the first year when paying by direct debit (£53 instead of £71 for Year One). You’ll receive a £15 RHS voucher with every purchase of the gift membership until 24 December, and the recipient will receive the same benefits as individual members plus a gift pack.

Adventure Island – Southend-on-Sea, Essex 
An ‘Adventure Inside Unlimited Fun Annual Pass’ cost £15, while an ‘Adventure Island Unlimited Fun Annual Pass’ costs £50.

Colchester Zoo – Colchester, Essex 
Zoo annual passes are £69.99 for adults aged 16-59, £49.99 for children (3-15) and £59.99 for seniors (60+). Consecutive renewal prices are priced at a 15% discount, and the zoo is offering a Black Friday sale until 5 December with a 15% discount on online purchases of Zoo passes. 

All Things Alpaca – Chelmsford, Essex
Visitors can trek around Lathcoats Farm and the stunning orchards with the seven alpacas. Visitors can go on a trek (£22 per child, £32 per adult), meet and greet the alpacas (£15 per child, £25 per adult), or even meet the other animals like donkeys and pygmy goats (£10 per child, from £15 per adult). 

Thames Sailing Barges with Topsail Charters – Maldon, Essex 
Slow Roast cruises start at £30; Sunday Roast cruises (with a one and a half hour cruise along the river followed by a seated two course Sunday roast lunch back at the Quay) starts at £45; Brunch cruises are priced from £30; Cream Tea cruises start at £30; and bird watching cruises start at £60.

Curve Water Sports – St Osyth, Essex
There’s a variety of Watersports on offer on this lake in St Osyth, from wakeboarding and kayaking to stand up paddleboarding and an inflatable aqua park. Gift vouchers start at £10.00. 

Lee Valley White Water Centre – Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire
Lee Valley White Water Centre hosted the Canoe Slalom at the London 2012 Olympics. They offer a number of courses and vouchers. Gift vouchers start at £16. 

English Cream Tea Company – Dunmow, Essex 
Gift tins start at £15.95 and hampers start at £34.95. Masterclasses start at £74.95 and afternoon tea for two at The Secret Sconery Tea Room is £90. A Valentine’s Afternoon Tea is being hosted on 11 February 2023 for £44.95 and Mothering Sunday Afternoon Tea on 19 March 2023 for £43.65.

Crouch Ridge Vineyard – Chelmsford, Essex
Planted in 2010, the vineyard produces fine wines and serves up local food with a great viewing platform to bask in the river views. Tastings will take place on weekends on select dates from 27th May 2023, and prices start at £15 per person. 

Saffron Grange Vineyard – Saffron Walden, Essex
The vineyard’s offering a ‘Try Flight’ Sparkling Wine tasting for £9.50 per person or provides vouchers for one for £20 each or a vineyard tour and sharing board for two for £60. 

VISIT ESSEX
Visit Essex is the official tourism organisation and the only body specifically marketing the whole of the county to the visitor market. We work with visitor attractions, leisure/activity providers, accommodation establishments and other tourism related businesses (including the travel trade, media and wider partners), to ensure that the county remains a leading visitor destination.

Our work encompasses major marketing campaigns, high profile PR work, business support, and the management and promotion of the official Visit Essex brand. Visit Essex will ensure that the county gets the recognition it deserves as a desirable place to visit in the 21st century. We will work closely with partners to develop a sustainable tourism offering for the future, identify new markets and harness visitors at the county's major gateways of Stansted, Harwich, Southend and Tilbury.

For further information:
Hilary Collins, hilary@wearebigwavepr.co.uk, 01206 231807.
Xyra Davies, xyra@wearebigwavepr.co.uk, 07804242546.