Stansted Tourist Information
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. Visitors can take advantage of the fast Stansted Express rail link to central London (45 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.
Mountfitchet Castle Norman Village
Top family attraction in Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex is Mountfitchet Castle Norman Village of 1066. The castle is a historically accurate replica of the mighty Norman castle that once stood on this site in Stansted Mountfitchet. Before the Norman castle this historic site was the location of a Saxon and Viking settlement, a Roman fort and an Iron Age Fort. Mountfitchet Castle is a mere 2 miles from the M11 motorway, junction 8. Brown signs direct you to the attraction from the motorway.
Fantastic for children and a superb interactive window into Norman Britain, visitors can roam around the reconstructed castle and surrounding Normal village, appearing as it would have been in Norman times. Further attractions within the Mountfitchet Castle attraction complex include The House on the Hill Toy Museum and experience spooky happenings in The Haunted Manor. Many animals including goats, ducks, deer, chickens and peacocks also have a home here. Themed events like Halloween Tours feature year round and a gift shop and tearooms are on-site.
Things to Do in Stansted Mountfitchet
Rich in Norman and Medieval heritage, Stansted Mountfitchet after which nearby Stansted Airport takes its names got its 'Mountfitchet' after the mighty baron Richard de Montfichet. Powerful baron Montfichet owned lands both here at Stansted and at Runnymede. He was one of the barons who challenged King John and was present at the Magna Carta signing at Runnymede in Surrey.
Stansted has long been at the epicentre of communications and transport and it is no accident that one of Britain's largest airports Stansted Airport is situated here today. Major old Roman roads still in use today like the A11 (the Great Newmarket Road) and the A120 from Colchester push towards and past Stansted and from the beginnings of the Great Eastern Railway Stansted station was a stopping off point from the start. The construction of the M11 in the 1970s brought further prosperity.
Stansted Mountfitchet station boasts fast direct train links to Stansted Airport, Cambridge and London Liverpool Street. Surrounded by beautiful countryside and with Hatfield Forest within easy reach. Stansted Mountfitchet B&Bs are situated ideally close to Stansted Airport. Stansted village with its good choice of village pubs, local walks, shops and fast train links to London and Cambridge makes a superb holiday touring base for international visitors arriving at Stansted Airport.
Heritage attraction in Stansted Mountfitchet and iconic feature in the village is the stunning Grade II listed Stansted Mountfitchet Windmill dating from 1787. The sails of Stansted Windmill still turn today and the Stansted Windmill is open to visitors on designated Sundays and Bank holiday weekends through the year. Find up-to-date opening times on the Stansted Mill's official website.
Stansted Airport Travel & Tourism
London Stansted Airport is Britain's third busiest airport has fast rail links to Stratford Station and Liverpool Street. Numerous leading low cost airlines fly from Stansted Airport which is located between London and Cambridge (40 miles outside London) just off the M11 motorway Junction 8A.
Stansted Airport's single terminal building, a spectacular innovative and environmentally efficient 'upside down' design by Foster & Partners architects with a lightweight roof, has become a model for both airport planners and designers around the world.
The fast Stansted Express train runs every 15 minutes between Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street via Tottenham Hale (Victoria Line, 11 minutes between Tottenham Hale and Liverpool Street) with an average journey time of just 45 minutes.
Stansted Airport railway station is located directly below Stansted Airport's terminal. Fast rail links from Stansted Airport station run to top tourist locations such as Cambridge and Norwich, with through rail links to locations across East Anglia via the National Express East Anglia train network. Cross Country Trains also offer trains from Stansted Airport station to Cambridge (35 minutes), Ely, Peterborough, Leicester and Birmingham.
Stansted Airport Accommodation
Stansted Airport accommodation, listed here on iknow Home Counties, can be found in the choice of Essex villages and small towns around Stansted including Takeley, Little Hallingbury and Great Easton. Accommodation near Stansted Airport in the rural Stansted Mountfitchet area is full of charm and character and includes stunning 15th century B&B inns, luxury B&Bs and pet friend and family friendly guest houses. Quality chain hotels near Stansted Airport with on-site leisure facilities are also available.
Picture Credits
Mountfitchet Castle Keep contributed by Richard Croft, Mountfitchet Windmill contributed by Thomas Nugent and Stansted Airport Departures Lounge contributed by EWR. All photos are copyrighted but licensed for further reuse under the creative commons licence.
