Make memories with a special day out in Essex

9th February 2022

From falconry to steam engine driving, a brewery experience to white water rafting, Essex has plenty of fun activities on offer. The county’s tourism organisation, Visit Essex, reveals some of the fun and adventurous things to do in Essex.   

Transport yourself to another side of Essex

Step back to yesteryear and enjoy a day as a train driver or signal box operator at the Epping Ongar Railway. With the choice of driving either a steam or diesel locomotive along a 16-mile track, or controlling the signals, the experiences are a heart-warming way to relive the romantic days of train travel. Driver days cost £375, whilst the signal box experience is priced at £150. 

Get Fresh! 

Experience the thrills and spills of white water rafting at the Lee Valley White Water Centre. The course is a rollercoaster ride of excitement through rapids and drops at the London 2012 Olympic site. The rafting experience is priced at £50 for a 90-minute session. Also, why not try other water-based sports at the centre, such as hydrospeeding, kayaking or paddleboarding? You can book a session from 1 April.

Treat yourself to a perfect day at the seaside by hiring a beach hut at Frinton-on-Sea! Choose a cute and colourful beach hut set next to the town’s golden sands. Beach huts give you the classic British beach holiday vibes and are ideal for taking instagrammable images. Daily hire is £50, and a week is £150.

Learn a new skill

Hipsters and lovers of real ale can treat themselves to a brewery experience at the Brentwood Brewery. The day starts bright and early where you’ll be introduced to all the skills involved in making the perfect pint. The experience is held in small groups, and you’ll make 18 pints of your own brew, which you can collect one week after your experience! The day costs £119 and includes a breakfast roll, lunch and a pint to wash it down!  

Live like a medieval Lord or learn to shoot a bow and arrow like Robin Hood! Hedingham Castle’s ‘Birds and Arrows’ experience offers longbow lessons and target shooting as well as falconry with buzzards, hawks and falcons. The five-hour experience runs on 16 April, 22 May and 10 July and costs £95, including refreshment.

Championing Essex as a county to experience amazing things is Councillor Mark Durham, Chairman, Visit Essex. He says: “Not only does Essex have some truly beautiful landscapes and fabulous towns and villages to discover, the county’s visitor attractions have also created some amazing experiences and days out. So whether you’re looking for original things to do, want to learn a new skill or do something that you have always dreamed of, visit Essex and make memories!” 

Ends

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, Big Wave PR, hilary@wearebigwavepr.co.uk, or call 01206 231807.