The Strangers Home boasts a fantastic setting for a great break in a family run park offering full facilities. Whether you planning to use us as a base camp to explore the historic county of Essex or a family holiday with the children we can cater for your every need. Live music and children’s activities are planned all year round to ensure that your stay with us is an enjoyable one. Facilites: Electrical Hook-ups. Group Bookings Welcome. NEW Local convenience store on site. Fully serviced Mens and Ladies toilet block. Fully serviced Mens and Ladies shower block. Washing up area. For a day out guaranteed to entertain the kids visit Colchester Zoo, home to some of the best cat and primate collections in Europe, and to burn off that excess energy stop off at Colchester Leisure World which offers a range of fun activities for the whole family to enjoy. Essex has all you need to treat the family to a fun, educational and great-value day out. Offering all the fun of the seaside, the Essex coast is home to numerous family festivals and carnivals throughout the summer months including the Clacton air show and Southend Pier's amusement arcades. Further inland follow the ghost trail to Manningtree where the last Witchfinder General is famous for his relentless witch hunting, find out more at Manningtree Museum. The village of Bradfield is ideally located for the sandy beaches of Frinton, Walton and Clacton not to mention its own stunning and secluded shoreline and fantastic walks across the Essex way. Rates: Please see website. Groups are welcome.

Debden Campsite is set in 50 acres of land on the edge of Epping Forest. It is an ideal base for exploring central London being just 45 minutes from Central London by car or Underground. The property was formerly a farm and it still retains hedgerows, dividing the site into 7 fields. Our facilities include: Shop and Cafe Housed in a listed building, serving hot and cold meals and selling basic essentials for camping needs. Laundry Washing and drying machines available daily. Token operated (available in booking office). Toilets and Showers 2 blocks, with hot showers and areas for washing up Electric points 60+ points, on Fields One and Four, charged daily Play areas 2 areas with swings, slides and climbing frame 24 hour Security Barriers on the entrances and exit and overnight security staff. Dogs allowed on leads and no fouling. Debden also offers training and conference facilities. We are also here as a Bed and Breakfast venue and First Class Function Venue. Rates : From £6 per person per night.

The Holiday Park is located on Mersea Island which is peaceful, unspoilt and famous for its oysters and boating/yachting facilities and offers camping, touring and static holiday homes available for hire. Nearby is the town of Colchester, the oldest recorded Roman Town in the country with museums, a Norman Castle and an exceptional shopping centre. The town attracts many long distance travellers and offers a host of leisure facilities. Waldegraves Holiday Park would like to welcome all visitors to our web site which a tour of will demonstrate why so many of holiday makers return time after time to take advantage of the multitude of facilities we have for their enjoyment. Holiday Homes : Many guests prefer to rent one of our three bedroom, luxury holiday homes for their holiday. These are all up-to-date, well appointed and situated in the prettiest parts of the Park. One of our homes is specially modified for wheelchair users. Some residents love Mersea Island so much that they decide to rent a permanent site for themselves and purchase their own holiday home from our on site showroom. We always carry a comprehensive stock of new and used luxury holiday homes at very competitive prices. Tents & Tourers : Attractive pitches amongst the trees are a feature at Waldegraves, with plenty of surrounding room ensuring privacy for our guests whether camping or caravanning. The modern laundry, toilet and showering facilities are situated conveniently throughout the Park. All of our pitches have electric and water points and waste disposal facilities. Kids stuff : To ensure that visiting youngsters become included in the Waldegraves experience and strike up new friendships, we have a full time young persons liaison officer who's job it is to tell all of our young visitors what's going on and where. We have karaoke for young people, talent shows, games, adventure trails and a visiting entertainer, who keeps everyone enthralled for hours, amongst numerous other activities. Fishing : Four well stocked lakes offer the angler a fine facility which is rarely matched. The lakes are stocked full of top quality Carp, Bream, Tench, Roach, Rudd, Perch and Gudgeon. Fully managed, a permanent fishing warden ensures that the fish and their environment are always maintained to the highest standard. Rods tackle and bait can all be bought or hired from the shop. Golf : Waldegraves has both an 18 hole pitch & putt golf course and a new 10 bay undercover driving range, which is floodlit for those who need their golfing fix. The course offers challenges to both experts and beginners alike. We also have a selection of golf accessories, plus club hire. Beach & Watersports : Boat access to the sea is made easy by Waldegraves' own hard slipway, which is suitable for hand or vehicle assisted boat launching. Water, for most craft, is deep enough approximately ± 3 hours either side of high water and is suitable for sailing dinghies, jet skis, speedboats and windsurfers. Buoyed zones ensure that speedboats and jet skis do not stray into bathing areas. Especially designed for rowing boats, inflatable boats and model boats, the Boating Lake is surrounded by picturesque trees and mown, grassy banks. It offers hours of fun for children and families who just like messing about in boats. Swimming Pool : The heated open-air pool is a firm favourite with all ages. Divided into a toddler and a parent and a main pool, even the youngest of swimmers can enjoy the water. Safety is our paramount consideration. We have qualified lifeguards on poolside duty at all times whilst the pool is in use. Surrounding the pool is a large, protected sunbathing deck. Our Granary Restaurant is immediately adjacent to the pool and is always ready to serve you a delicious meal, snack or drink which you can consume either in the restaurant or on the sundeck. Entertainment : The Wheatsheaf is the centre of Waldegraves' social programme. Pop in at lunchtime for a drink at the bar and a quiet game of pool, or join in the evening entertainment. We stage a full social programme throughout the year, part of which is a weekly talent competition. This culminates with winners competing in an end of season final to find Waldegraves' very own top talent for the year. Alongside the Wheatsheaf is the youngsters room complete with karaoke machine, stage, disco, table tennis and a pool table. The shops : Priding itself particularly on fresh produce, the Wheatgrain Shop bakes its own, fresh bread, every morning - just in time for breakfast! Stocks of other local produce are also available together with a large range of foodstuffs, childrens toys and souvenir gifts. And why not visit our brand new leisure accessories shop with new golf, camping and fishing stock. Also various touring caravans for sale. Rates : Tents / Motorhomes / Tourers - £17 to £25 per night. Holiday Homes £215 to £475 per week. Short breaks available.

Rushbanks Farm is a minimum facility site. It is the only official site on the banks of the River Stour and is very suitable for boaters and canoeists. Tents Caravans and Campers are all welcome. It is a working farm and dogs must be kept on a lead The farm is situated on the Suffolk Bank between Bures and Nayland on the Bures Road. From Colchester take the A134 to Nayland. At Nayland turn left, Sign posted "Bures", follow the road for about two kms past a left hand lane sign posted "Wissington Church", there is a group of cottages on the left and a sign to the campsite, go through a gate and follow the farm track down to the waterside. There are several landing stages and launching over the bank is easy. It is a very quiet site run by the farmer Garth Bates who is a member of The Trust. Own sanitation is advised. There is a water tap and a pit for dumping rubbish. A public footpath crosses the farm and there are possibilities of several walks. The river here is wide and deep and there is about a mile and a half of unobstructed water. Downstream two step weir portages lead to the Anchor at Nayland and upstream two more portages have to be negotiated to reach Bures. This part of the river is probably the quietist and most attractive section of the whole navigation. At most weekends during the summer a resident camper will collect your fee. Campfires are only allowed by special arrangement. Rates : £6.50 per night.

Colchester Camping is a Caravan Club Affiliated site located just outside the Historic town centre of Colchester "Britain's oldest recorded town". Colchester Camping is a family owned and run touring site catering for caravans, motorcaravans, tents and trailer tents. We also have secure and alarmed storage facilities for touring caravans and motorcaravans, and we are pleased to offer a number of seasonal onsite pitches. This High quality well-managed touring park is located within walking distance of Colchester Town Center "Britain's oldest recorded town"with its full range of shopping facilities. Colchester Camping & Caravan Park has been developed for the discerning tourist with a caravan, tent, motor-home, cycle or back-pack hiker. Set in glorious parkland, there are numerous electricity hook-ups, a large play area, shop and plenty of nature reserves and dog walks nearby. Our three architect designed amenity blocks are renowned for their cleanliness and offer comprehensive showering and washing facilities in private cubicles with free hot water. The park also has a dedicated disabled unit, dishwashing and laundry areas. Places of interest in Colchester itself include museums, Colchester castle, leisure center, ten-pin bowling, roller skating, The Mercury Theatre, arts center and Minories Gallery. Families would enjoy Colchester Zoo, The steam railway at Chappel & Castle Hedingham. Numerous nature reserves and country parks with footpaths and cycle tracks are perfect for the keen rambler who wants to explore. The site is a great stop over for those going to or coming from the ferry ports, as we are only an hour from London return sight seeing trips are popular with our continental visitors. Visit East Anglia & Constable country, see the picturesque Suffolk or the Essex coasts. Rates : Pitch from £5.00 - £9.00. Adults £5.00. Children Under 5 FOC, Aged 5 to 12, £2.00 per night. Groups by prior arrangement. Dogs £1.00 at the Owners discretion. R.Vs. at higher rate. 4 star ETC. Four and a Half AA Pennants Member of E.T.A. A.N.W.B.recommended