Thorndon Country Park South - Brentwood

Paul O.

Nice place to walk -bike with big open fields and paths

Danielle W.

Lovely, huge, clean park. Brilliant for a day out with the dog. Great view!

Keith D.

This park is truly beautiful.

This country park contains a diverse range of habitats and is managed both for people and for its precious wildlife. There are some fantastic walks through ancient woodland and historic deer parks which lie close alongside recently planted woodland and a landscape of small pastures. Thorndon Countryside Centre is managed by Essex Wildlife Trust and the Park is managed by Essex County Council in a joint venture. Gruffalo Trail Come and see the original Gruffalo Trail - a self-led trail around the woods, searching for carvings of the Gruffalo characters. Gruffalo Activity Maps are available from the Countryside Centre, at a cost of 50p. The countryside centre offers some unique gifts and books, a separate education room, refreshments and displays. There are regular activities for children, schools and families. Few areas offer such variety as Thorndon country park and its surroundings. Ancient woodland and historic deer parks lie close alongside recently planted woodland and a landscape of small pastures, while nearby is the high forest of Hartswood and former common land. Thorndon Country Park is in two parts, the northern section on a gravel ridge and the southern part on clay soil lower down. The two parts are now linked by Old Thorndon Pastures, which is farmland that has been restored to a traditional farming landscape with small hedged fields, grazed by cattle.

This is a must for nature enthusiast.

Top park 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

John A.

Currently the paths are a mudbath
They are using heavy plant to replace all the fences and the bridleway is just a sea of mud up to your ankles in places. It is not pleasant trying to walk around at the moment.
Pushchairs and wheelchairs would find it impassable.
We went because, normally, the bridleway is a hard surface and not muddy making it suitable when lots of other places are wet and boggy.
Just hope they restore the path surfaces very soon otherwise it will be off our list of popular parks.

Neal P.

Get there early or all the good BBQ spots will be taken. Also, park warden comes around charging £2 pp if large parties are spotted. £5 for the car park is enough I would say without the additional fee.

Philip W.

Great place for a gentle walk. Plenty of diversity and great views. We'll worth investing in the Essex Explorer parking pass to visit here and and the other great parks around Essex.

Rad A.

Lovely parkland that was once the site of Thorndon Hall. Great for walks, picnics (although BBQs are not allowed) and the like.

Sadly the cafe wasn't open, and doesn't look like it has been for some time.

The photo of the gated field is the former site of a church which Baron Petre had demolished because, allegedly, it spoilt the view from the house. If this is true then Karma came to visit.

Smallpox all but wiped out the family, killing 80 people, and then not long after that the hall burnt down.

Andrea G. F.

Beautiful country park. Ideal for kids as there's a Gruffalo and Stickman trail. Perfect for going biking or even just for a pick nic. We are lucky to live just next door from it.