Top Things to do in Braintree
What to do and see in Braintree, England: The Best Budget-friendly Things to do
Discover the best top things to do in Braintree, United Kingdom including Blackwater Alpacas & Pygmy Goats, Braintree Arts Theatre, Great Notley Country Park, Cressing Temple, Braintree & Bocking Public Gardens, Braintree District Museum, Flitch Way, Partyman World of Play, Bull Braintree.
Restaurants in Braintree
1. Blackwater Alpacas & Pygmy Goats
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 273 reviews
We offer a unique Alpaca walking / trekking Tour, Private farm tours which include feeding and petting the animals, goat keeping courses, junior farm experiences and mobile petting farm shows are available. All tours, walks etc are Strictly on a prebooked basis Our Halter trained Alpacas are available to attend weddings Call 07736 320490 or 07813 290708 to book your experience today!
2. Braintree Arts Theatre
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 241 reviews
To encourage new, fresh and emerging talent and to provide creative, innovative and interesting theatre and arts entertainment to the people of Braintree and beyond. Opened in 2011, we host a varitey of different performances ranging from classic Shakespeare to The Beatles tribute act and everything in between.
Reviewed By bigbadjoe - Braintree, United Kingdom
Saw Dire Streets here last Friday, our first time visiting this venue. The facilities were all excellent and seating comfortable. Bar prices reasonable which made for an enjoyable night out. Dire Streets were a fantastic band and well worth seeing if, like me, you grew up with the original.
3. Great Notley Country Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 482 reviews
Whether you're an adventurer at heart or just want to relax and unwind in Essex's beautiful countryside, Great Notley Country Park offers the perfect day out for all the family. Covering 100 acres of open space the park is home to Sky Ropes, the fun, family friendly high ropes adventure course as well as Essex’s longest kid’s play trail. Jump, swing, slide, crawl and climb your way around 1.2km of fun including giant see-saws, swing scales, a climbing forest, rope climbers, slides, forts and a large sand play area. (Please note our waterplay and climbing forest are currently out of action). Looking for something a bit quieter? The park also offers some lovely areas to explore and enjoy nature including a fishing lake and wildflower meadows. It’s popular for a wide range of activities including birdwatching, walking, cycling, fishing, horse riding, football, picnics and kite-flying. The park is also a great place to base yourselves to head off and explore the Flitch Way.
Reviewed By 224sarahj - Manchester, United Kingdom
Fantastic visit to Great Notley Country Park. A lovely walk suitable for all ages and abilities with lots of activities to keep busy children occupied, little ones will love the sandpit and the older ones the variety of swings and other natural play equipment.
4. Cressing Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 243 reviews
A beautiful setting hosting two of the world's oldest and finest timber-built barns, dating back to the 1200's and built by the Knights Templar and complimented by a Tudor Walled Garden. The perfect wedding ceremony venue and a fascinating place for coach tours, finished off perfectly with a visit to the Tiptree Tearoom. We also host numerous events throughout the year - Admission fees will apply when the events take place and opening hours may differ.
Reviewed By abbottchloe
I took my niece to Cressing Temple Barns Christmas Grotto this year with my sister (her mum)- it was without a doubt the best grotto experience I’ve ever seen in the UK! It felt so personal and made us all feel very festive! On arrival you are collected by a lovely Elf who takes you (singing and dancing!) over to the barn to meet Santa. As you walk over you get a glimpse of all the other things you can do during your day! It was late afternoon when we visited and there were little lights strung everywhere and an elf dancing with some fantastic changing lights that looked very impressive as we walked around to see Santa. Santa was asleep when we arrived and the kids had to shout to wake him up. He was excellent- especially his beard! The grotto was beautifully designed and after spending ten mins with Santa the kids got chance to sit with him and take a photo. After visiting Santa we were taken to the toy shop next door where the kids could choose a gift. There were all sorts of things to choose from. Our next stop was the Wish Queen. My niece is a huge frozen fan so was mind blown by the Wish Queen and her snowy forest. Our final trip was to the post room where the children got to write letters to Santa. The elf in the post room was very funny telling them all to ask for cabbages! After this our time was free and we could do whatever we liked. There was plenty still to do- we visited the reindeer and enjoyed some mulled wine. While having our wine two humorous elves came to check we were all on the nice list- it was a very big list! They then escorted us to the games room where we started a snowball fight! After playing lots of games and winning a prize we finally made our Christmas baubles in the craft room! This was brilliant! We made a snowman tree bauble with a rather questionable nose! But hanging him on our tree each year will bring back great memories from today! Thank you Cressing temple - you absolutely set the bar at Christmas Grottos- everything had been thought out beautifully! And compared to nearby places your price is very reasonable. At the end of the day- the main point is visiting Santa- which you have done far better than any other I’ve seen! Extra point- I also found out you had an accessibility grotto onsite too! How wonderful! We can’t wait to visit again next year!
5. Braintree & Bocking Public Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 97 reviews
Reviewed By denise796 - Braintree, United Kingdom
Very small relaxed park and great for kids up to 10 as small play area Great on hot summer days to take a picnic and meet family/friends as lots of trees for shady spots and clear grass to watch kids or play games - one of my favourite places to take the kids
6. Braintree District Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 48 reviews
Reviewed By kenc198 - Boston, United Kingdom
Knowing very little about the history of Braintree, I wasn't sure that this would be that interesting. How wrong I was... In the front garden stands the John Ray Statue. John Ray (1627 -1705) was a naturalist, in fact probably the most influential naturalist of the time. The museum has a whole gallery devoted to John Ray Gallery inside. Before entering the museum proper, I had a chat with James who was staffing the reception. I mentioned the name of someone else who appeared to have been a notable local but of whom I couldn't trace any information. In the time I spent walking round the museum James had very helpfully searched the internet and found out a link to help me discover who Mary Ruck was and why a street in Black Notley is named after her. That was well beyond the call of duty to my mind. Thank you! As I walked round the museum I noticed that it was very child friendly with obvious facilities to cater for small group in less formal learning setting than the classroom. I also learned about two local businesses, Courtaulds and Crittalls. Courtaulds is probably best know these days for man-made fibre, but had been in the textile business since 1794. Over the years since it expanded to become an international player, but as often happens times changed and the business contracted. The base in Braintree closed as did another in my home City of Coventry. Much more information can be found at the museum. Crittalls came to Braintree in the mid-19th Century with the purchase of an ironmongery and later in the century established the Crittall Manufacturing Co. Ltd soon establishing a work in the town.The business became global and today having gone through expansion, takeovers and buy-outs is still in business though no longer in the Braintree. Here again I discovered a Coventry connection, Crittall Windows having been involved in the construction of the 'Great West Window' of Coventry's 'New' cathedral which opened in 1962. I was fascinated with the way the former school building had been adapted to meet it's new use without losing any of the character that it had as a school. One of the classrooms houses the John Ray Gallery where visitors can learn how important his contribution has been to knowledge of the natural world. Another classroom is more or less as I remember my primary school in the 1950s. It is used for day visits from schools around the area and as far as London. It enables the youngsters of today to experience learning of the last century with everyone in 'role' though thankfully without the harshness! Another small section covers Braintree at war. I was very interested to see for the first time an example of a steel 'Morrison' shelter which could serve as a kitchen table but was also strong enough - hopefully - to protect those underneath in the event of a bomb hitting the house. All-in-all, this is a very impressive museum and children would find much of it fascinating.
7. Flitch Way
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 30 reviews
Reviewed By cliffd466 - Ipswich, United Kingdom
A nice 10 mile stretch of disused railway line through the Essex countyside . I did it as a dog walk but intent returning in the spring to cycle the whole length . Beeching may have cut the railways but they are now brilliant wildlife habitats.
8. Partyman World of Play
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 163 reviews
Reviewed By Jclark1989
This is the second time in a week that I have visited Partyman World in Braintree. I felt safe and comfortable both times. All staff wear masks and are social distancing. All balls had been taken out of the soft play areas and areas were clean. They have reduced sessions to three a day and you have two hours (which is more than enough for kids to let off steam). In between each session they clean for an hour. All the tables were well spaced out and most customers were social distancing. You are encouraged to wear your mask at all times, but may remove it when sat at your table. It wasn't busy and clearly they were sticking to the guidelines. There was hand sanitiser upon arrival and exit. You are encouraged to sanitise hands when entering and leaving the building as well as the play areas. There is also a one way system in between the larger and smaller play areas. It was so lovely to take my 22 month old to a soft play area. He loves the toddler area and it was great for him to run around and explore despite the rubbish weather outside. He absolutely loves soft play. The coffee and the food is also good here. The staff working today were all friendly and very helpful - Alex, Stacey and Jack.
9. Bull Braintree
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 22 reviews
Reviewed By Essex92
Had a great experience at The Bull. Lovely service from our waiter Kevin and waitress Immy. Our food was amazing the Katsu chicken burger is fantastic, fresh chilli with a nice heat. I loved the chicken pie, so nice in this cold weather. We’ll certainly be back!
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