Chelmsford Cathedral
Colchester Castle
Saffron Walden Markets
Rowing on the River Stour Dedham ValeEssex contains a wealth of holiday experiences from premier historic and cultural centres like Britain's oldest town, once the Roman capital of Britain Colchester to ancient market towns with stunning medieval architecture like Saffron Walden and Great Dunmow. Essex is beautifully rural containing numerous nature reserves, family farm parks and ample opportunity for outdoor activities including cycling and walking. In north Essex on the Suffolk border is Dedham Vale immortalised in the paintings of John Constable. Luxury country house hotels, farm B&Bs and country cottages are widely available in the Essex countryside.
» Find Inland Essex Accommodation
Essex is incredibly accessible, home to Britain's third busiest airport Stansted Airport. The county is easily accessed via main motorways the M11 and M25. Outstanding business and conference centres in Essex like famous British New Town Harlow, Brentwood and Basildon boast fast rail links to London and extensive conference hotels and sports leisure facilities.
Basildon and the Thames waterfront from Canvey to Tilbury sit ideally close to the M25 and boast fast rail links to central London. An extensive choice of premier conference hotels in Basildon alongside luxury wedding hotels in Orsett and country house hotels in Thurrock are perfect for both weddings and conference events. Great Basildon shopping centres and entertainment leisure parks feature in Basildon town centre and within easy reach of Basildon just off the M25 at Thurrock is one of the UK's largest shopping centres, Lakeside shopping centre. Attractions on the Thames waterfront near Purfleet and Orsett include historic Tilbury Fort. Waverley Pleasure Steamers at Tilbury also offer boat trips on the Thames into central London.
Picturesque rural North Essex Braintree district contains a wealth of stunning medieval architecture, a legacy of the 14th century cloth trade in the area. Braintree makes a superb holiday base with accommodation including luxury Braintree traditional inn B&Bs and charming self catering cottages. Historic hotels and delightful cottages around Braintree cluster around medieval market towns Great Dunmow, Halstead and Coggeshall. Based in Braintree hotels, visitors have both a stunning Essex rural base plus easy access to Stansted Airport via the A120.
Attractions in Braintree district include numerous superb markets, premier antiques centres, medieval castles and churches, family farm parks and heritage railways. Braintree station offers direct rail links to Chelmsford and London Liverpool Street. The market towns of the Braintree district, with their many specialist shops, fine restaurants and traditional inns, make outstanding holiday bases for touring. Medieval Saffron Walden, Roman Colchester, day trips to Cambridge and Constable Country on the Suffolk/Essex Border are all within easy driving distance of Braintree B&B inns and holiday cottages.
Brentwood in south Essex sits just off the M25 motorway and has excellent road and rail links into both London and East Anglia. Brentwood is surrounded by spectacular country parks including popular South Weald Country Park with visitor centre, deer park, ancient woodland walks and pretty formal gardens. Brentwood's modern well serviced town centre features great conference and sports facilities in The Brentwood Centre and discover a thriving arts and heritage scene centred around the Brentwood Theatre and Brentwood Museum. Stunning local landmark in Brentwood is the part Victorian/part contemporary Brentwood Cathdral.
Quality chain Brentwood hotels with on-site conference and leisure facilities sit conveniently close to the M25, Junction 28. Beautiful countryside parishes around Brentwood offer a wide choice of fine B&Bs and country house hotels with wedding and conference facilities. Popular with both business and leisure visitors, Brentwood is within easy reach of Southend, City and Stansted Airports and has fast rail links to London Liverpool Street.
Essex cultural centre Chelmsford with its spectacular cathedral is centrally located in the county just 31 miles northeast of London. With a rich heritage as a Roman centre and the birthplace of radio broadcasting, Chelmsford's compact and pedestrianised town centre features lively street markets, a great cafe culture and premier attractions including the Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre. An extensive choice of Chelmsford hotels, B&Bs and character inns sit around both Chelmsford centre and in historic villages near Chelmsford including Pleshey, home to the remains of a rare Essex Norman castle.
Famous Grade II listed Georgian Hylands House and Park sits just south west of Chelmsford centre. The Hylands Park estate hosts one of Britain's most popular annual music festivals - the V Festival. Fascinating museums in Chelmsford include The Essex Regiment Museum and in the heart of Chelmsford's West End are premier Chelmsford theatres The Civic and Cramphorn.
Britain's oldest town Colchester in North Essex sits close to the Suffolk and Essex border was once the Roman capital of Britain. Colchester attracts millions of visitors annually - this historic Essex centre contains award winning museums like the Colchester Castle Museum, top family attractions like Colchester Zoo and iconic contemporary arts venues like the dazzling contemporary firstsite. Colchester is a superb holiday base and perfect for weekend breaks. Fantastic attractions are also around Colchester including Dedham Vale John Constable Country, nearby Mersea Island beaches and coastal parks and the East Anglian Railway Museum.
Accommodation in Colchester centre includes beautiful historic hotels, luxury B&Bs and stylish boutique hotels. Luxury self catering cottages and premier B&Bs around Colchester are also widely available close to the Suffolk border and Constable Country. Premier shopping, dining, art cafes and acclaimed theatre all feature in Colchester centre.
Perfect as a holiday base from which to explore Dedham Vale Constable Country, Dedham village in north east Essex sits alongside the River Stour. The area was immortalised in the paintings of John Constable and both Dedham village and Constable Country which surrounds it contain many recognisable features from Constable's paintings.
Dedham accommodation includes warm and welcoming bed and breakfast guest houses and historic B&B inns. Dedham village centre with its iconic Dedham parish church painted many times by Constable contains a superb selection of craft and antique shops, traditional inns and cafes. Famous Constable sites like Flatford Mill and the National Trust's Bridge Cottage with Constable exhibition are within easy walking distance from Dedham.
Ancient market town Great Dunmow is one of a several idyllic historic market towns in north west Essex. Dunmow is within easy reach of Stansted Airport and the M11 situated just off the A120 midway between Bishop's Stortford and Chelmsford. Restaurants with rooms, farm B&Bs and stunning historic inn B&Bs in Great Dunmow are just a 15 minute drive from Stansted Airport. Great Dunmow centre contains a wonderful selection of independent shops from fine delicatessen to antique shops and art galleries. Stansted Airport parking is offered by many of the farm B&Bs in the Dunmow area.
Epping is a delightfully rural historic market town within the Greater London M25 boundary surrounded by the historic landscape of Epping Forest. Epping is a superb touring base for exploring Essex and central London. Epping is connected to central London by the London Underground's Central line. Epping traditional market dates back to the 13th century and numerous historic buildings line the Epping High Street. Alongside the famous Monday market in Epping the town also holds a popular Farmers Market on the first Friday of each month.
Famous British New Town Harlow designed by acclaimed architect Frederick Gibberd is ideally situated for business and leisure close to the M11 motorway and the M25 just south of the town. Harlow accommodation features a choice of top budget Harlow hotels. Premier conference and leisure hotels in Harlow are within easy reach of central London, Cambridge and Stansted Airport via Harlow's two stations. Journey times for trains from Harlow Town station to Stratford (Olympic Stadium) and London Liverpool Street are under one hour.
Harlow attractions are numerous including a town centre sculpture trail with works by Henry Moore, riverside trail, gardens and spectacular town parks and a wide choice of modern shops and world cuisine restaurants. First class sports and leisure facilities in Harlow include golf centres and cutting edge health and beauty centres. Outstanding Harlow theatres, art galleries and shopping centres all feature in Harlow centre and around Harlow are a choice of beautiful Essex nature reserves.
Rayleigh and Rochford hotels and B&B inns sit conveniently close to Southend Airport and within easy reach by road and rail to Southend-on-Sea and central London. Distinctive features in these historic south Essex towns include the beautiful Rayleigh Windmill and magnificent 13th century Old House in Rochford.
Historic markets, churches, fine traditional inns and charming tearooms all feature in traditional Rayleigh and medieval market town Rochford. Train journey times from Rayleigh and Rochford to central London are under one hour.
Saffron Walden in North Essex is one of Britain's special medieval centres containing a breathtaking selection of preserved medieval architecture, stunning gardens and featuring outstanding central craft and antiques markets, parks and museums. Both Saffron Walden and nearby Jacobean Audley End House and Gardens are popular day trips from Cambridge which is within easy reach of Saffron Walden.
Luxury historic B&Bs, traditional inns and stunning holiday cottages in Saffron Walden are numerous. Visitors based in Saffron Walden B&Bs are ideally situated for touring. Beautiful Saffron Walden is located just off the M11 motorway affording fast and easy access to Stansted Airport, Cambridge and the Imperial War Museum Duxford. Audley End station, just 2 miles from Saffron Walden, offers fast train links to Cambridge, Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street.
Stansted Mountfitchet village is located just west of Stansted Airport and the M11 motorway and contains the stunning Grade listed Stansted Mountfitchet Windmill. Luxury farm B&Bs, idyllic holiday cottages and historic inn B&Bs around Stansted Airport feature in this beautifully rural area of Essex which is rich in Medieval and Norman history. Top family attraction Mountfitchet Castle Village sits just 2 miles off the M11 and contains a historically accurate replica of the former Norman castle once here.
Stansted B&Bs and holiday cottages are perfect holiday bases for touring and are situated just minutes from Britain's third busiest airport Stansted Airport. Visitors based in Stansted can take advantage of the fast Stansted Express rail link to central London (45 minutes, running every 15 minutes). The M11 corridor near Stansted affords easy access by road to Cambridge whilst the A120 puts Britain's oldest town Colchester within easy reach.
Picturesque Georgian town Witham is situated in the heart of Essex just off the A12 midway between Colchester and Chelmsford. Witham is also within easy reach of popular boat trip centre Maldon on the Essex coast. Witham town centre offers a great mix of independent shops, farmers markets and modern shopping centres. Cycling trails, riverside walks and nature reserves around Witham offer ample opportunities for outdoor activities.
Luxury Witham hotels and farm B&Bs in Kelvedon and Feering afford easy access to Colchester and are perfect holiday bases for exploring inland Essex and the Essex Coast. Charming tea rooms and farm shops around Witham include the famous Wilkin & Sons tea rooms and visitor centre in Tiptree.
