Guide to Visiting Mersea Island with Children
Visit Mersea Island! Mersea Island is a great family friendly place to visit in Essex. Mersea Island makes for a great day trip, lovely weekend away and summer staycation.
There are plenty of things to do on Mersea Island - check out the beach huts, soak in the sea air and visit independent eateries. Mersea Island is incredibly family friend and a great day trip with kids. Children will love the beautiful beach at Mersea Island and there are lots of great play areas too. We have your perfect itinerary for visiting Mersea Island with children!
How to get to Mersea Island
The Island has two sections - West and East Mersea. West Mersea is loved for it's beautiful beach huts and sandy beaches. Rural East Mersea is home to the Island's only country park. The Island is small enough to be able to visit both sections in a day, however you will need car.
It is worth noting that Mersea Island can only be accessed via the Strood causeway. At High Tide the causeway can flood. It is recommended that if the tide level is over 5 metre, it is likely to cover the caueway, making it impassable. When the tide is over 5 metres is recommended not to travel for 90 minutes before or after high tide. In order to travel safely to Mersea Island make sure you check tide times before travelling!
There are also options for travelling to Merea Island via public transport. There are trains from London Liverpool Street to Colchester Station, or Colchester Town Station. From Colchester you will need to take a taxi to Mersea Island.
Things to do in West Mersea with Children
West Mersea is a small fishing town. You can find beautiful sandy beaches in West Mersea and also great playgrounds. Here is a guide to how to spend the day visiting Mersea Island with Children.
📍Victoria Esplanade
West Mersea
Colchester
CO5 8BH
We like to start a day trip to West Mersea by parking at the car park at Victoria Esplanade. At the end of the car park you can find Victoria Esplanade Playground. This lovely, bright coloured, playground overlooks the beautiful beach huts on Mersea Island.
The playground is small but well located - close to the car park, beach and there are also toilets and cafes close by. The playground is most suitable for smaller children, up to secondary age. There are climbing frames, a slide, climb on boat, ride on toys and a roundabout. Read More about Victoria Esplanade Playground...
Mersea Island Beach Huts
From Victoria Esplande, we recommend a walk along the sandy beach at Mersea Island, lined with traditional beach huts. The perfect place to enjoy incredible sea views! There are beach huts dotted along much of the Mersea coastline. Our favourite are the pastel beach huts, which can be found at the far end of West Mersea beach, past the West Mersea Holiday Park.
These beauiful huts are only a 10 to 15 minute walk along the beach from Victoria Esplanade. The beach huts make a great photo opportunity. If you are planning on spending lots of time at the beach, you can hire a beach hut for the day!
📍West Mersea Playground
CO5 8QX
If you are looking for a lunch spot in Mersea - head to the West Mersea High Street! You can find The Mersea Deli, Mersea Island Bakery and Coastal Coffee. There is also a Co-op supermarket if you are looking for quick, convenient food.
You can also find this great play area close to West Mersea High Street! The West Mersea Playground is located behind the Co-op Store, which is very convenient for picnics on the large playing fields.
West Mersea playground has lots of equipment suitable for smaller children including a climbing frame, slide, baby swings, springy climb on equipment, a seesaw and a merry-go-round. The equipment is brightly coloured and in good condition. There are also a few different types of swings for older children and a large wooden climbing frame for good climbers. There is also a zipwire. Read More about West Mersea Playground...
📍 The Victory at Mersea
92 Coast Road
Mersea Island
Colchester
CO5 8LS
The Victory is a great family friendly hotel and pub located on Mersea Island. The pub serves food and there is a good sized play area in the pub garden. There are also beautiful sea views from the pub garden.
The play area is in the pub garden, where there is lots of bench seating. There are also parasols available to use. There are Wendy houses to climb up, slide down and play in. There is also ride on equipment. There is a kids food menu and seasonal seafood truck.
Things to do in East Mersea with Children
East Mersea is rural and there is far more open space. In East Mersea you a can find a great country park!
📍Cudmore Grove Country Park Broman's Lane
East Mersea
CO5 8UE
This beautiful country park has so much to offer; nature walks, coastal exploration, a great adventure playground and trails. Children will love the imaginative playground and searching for shells and fossils on the beach. There are also a bird hides for keen wildlife spotters.
The wooden playground at Cudmore Grove is well located next to the car park and cafe. The entire play area is grassy, but there are three separate play spaces, which are based on either sand or stone. The playground at Cudmore Grove Country Park is generally suited to children of at least pre-school age, much of the play area is based around climbing and it is not enclosed. There is a mix of play equipment, based around large wooden climbing frames. There are plenty of rope climbs, balancing beams, slides, climbing walls, sand pulleys and toys and wooden sculptures.
📍 Mersea Barns
East Road
East Mersea
CO5 8TQ
Mersea Barns is a shop with a great restaurant attached. Mersea Barns is perfect for children as there is indoor and outdoor seating, an outdoor play area for children and covered Messy Play space.
The play area is sand based. There are a number of balancing beams, logs and ropes. Good for balancing and also good for playing with vehicles. There were a few diggers and spades available to play with. There is also a sand table. It's easy to keep an eye on the children from the seating area. There is a grassy space next to the sandpit area.
The separate Messy Play space has a messy kitchen, dinosaur world and playdoh station. You can prebook sessions online. Read More...
Last Updated April 2024
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Don't forget to check the Park Directory for more park inspiration - A-Z of over 100 Parks in Essex
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