Top 5 Guide to Parks and Gardens in Chelmsford

Chelmsford and the surrounding area of Essex offer a huge variety of great days out for everyone. These range from swimming pools, and zoos to visiting one of the nearby beaches on the Essex coast. The north of the county is full of fun things for children to do as well as plenty to appeal to parents and grandparents.
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When you have settled into your new home, and want to start to explore the surrounding district, then a great place to start is the parks and gardens in Essex, which everyone will love, including the children. There are plenty of historic houses with spectacular grounds. Here is a guide to a few of the local favourites.

RHS Hyde Hall

The Royal Horticultural Society’s Hyde Hall in Chelmsford, is a place where you can see RHS horticulturalists at work. The sprawling gardens have a fantastic panoramic view of rolling hills, which is rather unexpected in rural Essex. There are a variety of different gardens to visit here, with the Dry Garden being one of the RHS’s crowning glories, as it shows gardeners how they can create a garden using only drought-resistant plants.

The Rose Garden has a few ponds dotted around, and some island beds, with several varied rose borders, which attract a large number of rose growers every year. If you are a keen gardener, Hyde Hall is the place to go for inspiration.

Audley End House & Gardens

Audley End in Saffron Walden is one of the most spectacular Jacobean mansion houses in the area. Apart from the interior of the house, which is awe-inspiring, there is a wide selection of natural history objects, collected by the previous owners. You can also experience how the children of the house lived in the early 18th century.

The house has a Victorian stable yard attached to it, where you can see the horses, but it is the gardens that really make the biggest impression on everyone. They were designed by famous landscaper Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. He disposed of the old gardens and introduced a more natural planting scheme along with a serpentine lake. From the lake, the views of the surrounding gardens will take your breath away. The kitchen garden is run on organic principles. Perhaps after all the walking you are hungry? Then there is the tea shop in the servant’s quarters, where local produce is sold.

Beth Chatto Gardens

If you are thinking of visiting these gardens in Elmstead Market, Colchester, take your purse or wallet. The number of plants on offer will make you want to buy some to create your own garden in a similar style. The world-famous Gravel Garden is never watered, and is full of a wide variety of plants which are perfect for dry weather, with many coming from the Mediterranean. There are four other gardens to visit, and each one is completely different to the last, with the water garden being full of moisture-loving blooms. These gardens have become world-famous, and for good reason.

Danbury Country Park

Danbury Park near Chelmsford is the perfect place to go dog walking. The paths are all well maintained and there are plenty of seats to sit and enjoy the view, with picnic areas available. If you visit in late spring then the ducklings will be waddling about, and the rhododendrons will be in full bloom. A lakeside path takes you all around the tranquil waters – where you will notice moorhens, coots and sometimes you may even catch a glimpse of a kingfisher.

Marks Hall Gardens and Arboretum

Marks Hall is in Coggeshall, which is between Braintree and Colchester, and not too far from Chelmsford. If you are interested in flowers from around the globe, then this is the perfect place for you. The gardens have a collection of trees and plants from all around the world.

To find these various plants and trees, there are a range of walks starting at a half mile and going up to two and a half miles, so there is a hike for almost everyone to enjoy. Youngsters need not be bored, either, as there is a playpark and tea shop. This is another place you can purchase plants, and being able to see the fully-grown mature varieties here really helps you to imagine what they will look like in your own garden.

The Screaming Oak is a decaying ancient truck of an oak tree, which has been compared to Edward Munch’s ‘Scream’ painting. This contorted old oak has a wide variety of insects and small mammals living in it, which will appeal to children.

These beautiful parks and gardens are just a few of the outside spaces, where you can wander about, choose items for your own garden, entertain children in the play areas or encourage them to search for wildlife.

Whatever you decide to do during your free time, you will find a whole host of entertaining places to visit when you move to Essex. If you need to arrange  removals to Chelmsford, Maldon, Braintree, Witham, Colchester, Southend or any other area of the county or the UK, Greens Removals will be happy to give a free quote. Contact us to find out more.