Essex rivers - best places for kids?

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Leisure27Deben

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Hi all

We are heading off on our summer cruise later in the week with the kids, staying relatively local this year rather than heading overseas and the provisional plan is to spend a couple of weeks exploring the Essex rivers.

We have been to Tollesbury before and that will definitely feature on the itinerary (for the swimming pool and some lovely walks) as will Brightlingsea (more swimming pool and some shops etc.) but I am struggling a bit to think of other places which will be interesting for a 10 year old and 8 year old. They like a nice run on the beach so will probably head up to Osea, but I wondered if anyone else has any good suggestions for places which kids of a similar age have enjoyed?

Annoyingly they are less keen than me on things like anchoring in the Pyefleet with a good book and a glass of wine!

They were a bit spoiled in Holland last year with things like Centreparcs walking distance from the marina (Port Zelande) and various lovely moorings right in the heart of historic towns, so would be good to try and keep them interested closer to home!

Our ten year old gets fairly seasick so once we have done the unavoidable plug down the Wallet we will probably try and restrict ourselves to river / estuary sailing and short hops so probably the Colne to the Crouch. Might stop in at the Backwaters on the way home though.

Any thoughts / experiences much appreciated - or indeed if anyone else is doing a similar thing with similar aged kids at the same time and fancies some company then feel free to PM me.
 
Heybridge Basin perhaps. Great place for practising rowing in the tender, a trip up the canal to Tesco’s is quite special with often interesting wildlife to see, and where else can you go shopping by dinghy like that?
watching boats locking in and out may interest them also.
 
If you are happy to dry out, Maldon can be good. There is often lots going on in promenade park at weekends and they have a great splash park for younger kids.
 
Leighb said:
Heybridge Basin perhaps. Great place for practising rowing in the tender, a trip up the canal to Tesco’s is quite special with often interesting wildlife to see, and where else can you go shopping by dinghy like that?
watching boats locking in and out may interest them also.
Click to expand...

Thanks - hadn't considered that, but I think they would enjoy that. Bit like being back in Holland with canals and locks! Is it freshwater in there as well to kill off some of the wildlife on the hull?
 
CLB said:
If you are happy to dry out, Maldon can be good. There is often lots going on in promenade park at weekends and they have a great splash park for younger kids.
Click to expand...

We actually had a flying visit up there the weekend before last (not with the kids) - made it all the way up from West Mersea under sail, but we were about 40 minutes after high water - and not a huge tide - so we had to hightail it back as it was getting rather shallow! Did look like there was a lot going on though, I was a bit worried we were going to run aground in front of a very large audience...

Might give it a shot if the tides are good though
 
Ipswich Haven , loadsa shops , cinema etc plus safe to row the dink

Stop at RHYC or Woolverstone and walk thru the woods to pinmil

Or as previously suggested Heybridge basin / Maldon

Ps , were heading for the backwaters next Monday for peace & tranquility..........
 
Leisure27Deben said:
Thanks - hadn't considered that, but I think they would enjoy that. Bit like being back in Holland with canals and locks! Is it freshwater in there as well to kill off some of the wildlife on the hull?
Click to expand...
yes, fresh water to give the Barnie’s a fright��
It is beautiful in here this morning, sun and a light breeze which has gone round to the East. about to go over to the cafe for breakfast.
 
Stone point was always the high point for ours, but that was before the days of mobiles and wall to wall entertainment. The Rocks in the Deben was another favourite place, as was the village, though the beach has mostly eroded away now. If you want to give them a run, a hearty walk to St Peters on the Wall might do them some good. Orford Castle is worth a visit.

Mostly, our children spent their holidays sitting outside pubs.
 
Thanks all - plenty of food for thought! I suspect this will be the last year before we are constrained by the kids requiring WiFi everywhere we go so intending to make the most of it...
 
Get a 4g wifi bat and data only sim. We have one from EE.
Most places these days have good 4g signal sometimes better than a 3g signal.
The one we use can link up to 10 devices at the same time..

Data use might depend on how much warcraft and minecraft the children play instead of looking out the window and doing something most children can't hope to experience.
 
My lot liked:
1. Walton Stone Point (beach)
2. East Mersea Stone (beach)
3. RHYC / Pin Mill (they still do, but its for the beer as well as the walk now)
4. Iken Cliff, last mile to Snape Maltings (more for kids there than you might expect) in dinghy
5. Bradwell. Just a nice quiet place.
 
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Our kids are now in their 40s with sprogs of their own. On a recent trip to my son in Queensland, sitting on a tropical beach with palm trees, I heard them comment "do you remember those marvellous holidays at Stone Point and the Rocks?"
 
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