Escape to Essex’s Secret Places

16th January 2023

Visit Essex, the county’s tourism body, is shining a light on ‘secret Essex’, a wealth of undiscovered places to stay, things to do and places to eat, all within a stone’s throw of the capital.

With convenient transport links, including the new Elizabeth Line, Essex is a short hop from the city giving Londoners the chance to see a secret Essex, that only the locals know about.

Places to stay boutique

Over recent years Essex has become home to a growing number of stylish boutique hotels, glamping retreats and quirky stays from escape rooms and treehouses to regal settings.

New this year is the chance to live like a king and stay at the stunning Norman Keep at Hedingham Castle, opening in March, where you can sleep in a stunning four-poster bed! Built 900 years ago, this fortified stone tower is the best-preserved keep in the country. The castle even has its own escape room and hosts a series of events year-round, including jousting, vintage and car fairs. Prices start at £490 per night.

For spa indulgence head to Talbooth House and Spa, overlooking the Dedham Vale, an area of outstanding natural beauty. The newly refurbished spa has an uber contemporary outdoor heated pool and stylish interiors, with a range of top-end treatments. The venue has also just opened a pop-up Alpine restaurant inspired by ski lodges to make you feel you are right by the slopes. Prices from £250 per night. Be transported to Victorian England and enjoy a stylish stay at Cambridge Lodge, Audley End, near Saffron Walden. Built in 1843, Cambridge Lodge is a stunning Gatehouse to Audley End House, one of England’s finest stately homes. The self-catering, two-bedroom luxury lodge sleeps four, set across two levels with ample space for a group getaway. Live in splendour and charming surroundings, costs are around £1855 for a week’s stay. www.visitessex.com/accommodation/cambridge-lodge-p1266461

Places to stay quirky

Get quirky in Essex! Stay at the Clockwork Hotel in picturesque Burnham-on-Crouch. The 11- bedroom hotel can only be unlocked if challenges and clues are solved, making it a fun venue, ideal for hen and stag weekends. Prices start at £170 per person for a minimum of 16 people. 

Talliston House, near Great Dunmow, is an everyday house, transformed into the extraordinary! The property offers a wonderland of different rooms and settings, such as the Japanese Tearoom and New Orleans kitchen and Norwegian bathroom. Couples are treated to a choice of three bedrooms for an exclusive stay, including the ‘Haunted Bedroom’! Prices per room, per night start at £125. Rustic retreats and glamping!

Escape the city and enjoy a rustic retreat! Just a short drive from the end of the central line, Coleman’s Farm, Ongar, near Epping Forest, offers the most luxurious of tree houses. Stay in the 500-year-old oak tree, a bedroom in the branches, the tree’s trunk has become part of the interior, bedecked in pretty fairy lights, you’ll also find a double bath, king size bed and sofa! Prices start from £250 per night for a fun romantic hideaway or restorative break.

Chigborough Farm, Maldon is another stylish glamping spot, with luxury pods, bell tents and cabins nestling in 130 acres of secluded countryside and fishing lakes. Visitors can relax in a rural idyll upon a floating raft log-cabin on a private lake; the awe-inspiring Floating Raft Log Cabin, sleeps 2 with extra space for 2 children, which costs from £245 per night. Grebe’s Nest, a floating pod, reached by a chain bridge costs from £125 per night.

For ultimate romance, stay at the bespoke, ensuite Shepherd’s Hut at Hedingham Huts, which has luxury furnishings throughout and an exclusive patio to take in the picturesque views. Prices start at £105 per night.

Things to Do

Explore another side to Essex on a visit to the county, from award-winning vineyards, microbreweries and independent gin distilleries, to festivals, mud races, seal watching, sunflower fields and a trip to the flicks! Essex is home to a growing number of vineyards, one of the best to visit is Saffron Grange in the north of the county. The family-run business produces some of the finest sparkling wines in the UK, head over for wine tasting sessions or to stock up on supplies. Gin-lovers will snap up a visit to ‘On the Wall Distillery’ school near Maldon where you can choose your own botanicals and create your own personal gin.

Get muddy and take part in this year’s Maldon Mud Race on 14 May! Jump into the sludge and fundraise for a local charity and see if you can beat the fastest finish time of 222 seconds. Or set sail on a seal watching adventure from Ha’Penny Pier in Harwich and head out on a 120-minute cruise around the county’s backwaters to meet its cute inhabitants.

In the summer months head over to Writtle Sunflowers and pick your own bouquet! The sunflower farm is a must for anyone in the area and provides a stunning backdrop for insta-worthy shots! After dark, take in a movie at Harwich’s heritage Electric Palace Cinema. The building dates back to 1911 and has recently undergone refurbishment the historic cinema is frequented by patron Clive Owen and was used as a filming location for Downton Abbey a New Era.

Places to eat

Whilst out and about tuck into fresh locally sourced produce. Essex is home to world-famous oysters and a perfect place to get them is Mersea Island. There’s also some great dining out options across Essex from the much-loved Mistley Kitchen on the banks of the Stour near Manningtree, to the 1935 Restaurant and Bar in Southend, which offers a birds-eye view of the runway at Southend airport. Another favourite is The Little Seafood Bar in Hatfield Heath which serves up platters of the freshest catch of the day, perfect for sharing.

The county also has a growing number of tearooms, enjoy a quintessential afternoon tea at Mrs Salisbury Tearooms, in Maldon. Mrs Salisbury’s oozes charm and character and is hidden away in Bright’s Path alleyway just off the High Street. For tea by the sea, opt for the Loft Tearoom in the coastal village of Tollesbury, creative workshops are held upstairs, and the owners support local artists and makers.

To discover more of Essex’s hidden gems and to be ‘in the know’, follow @VisitEssex on Instagram #secretessex, www.visitessex.com

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

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.