Weekend in Essex with kids – exploring Saffron Walden

If ever we needed to escape the everyday, it’s in 2020 – but while flying somewhere hot isn’t an option, this year has been a good reminder to appreciate what’s close to home… including our latest trip, a weekend in Essex with kids.

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Despite being the only next county over, it’s somewhere I haven’t explored as much as I’d like – a stay in pretty Mistley several years ago, a few trips to the Essex coast, but that’s about all I’ve managed recently. If I was in any doubt that there’s more to Essex than the stereotypes, our weekend in Saffron Walden, exploring the countryside and discovering history and quirky family attractions proved just how much there still is to discover.

Best of all, it felt like a proper escape with the reassurance of being only 90 minutes from home. Because there’s always something new to discover, wherever you are in the UK – for some inspiration to start you off, here’s how to spend a weekend in Essex with kids.

For more of the best things to do in Essex with kids, check out my top picks

Things to do in Saffron Walden with kids

Our base was pretty Saffron Walden: even on a rainy weekend, it’s a gorgeous place to wander around, with pastel coloured cottages and half-timbered buildings, and where every other house seemed to date back centuries.

It’s the kind of place that’s made for ambling the streets, soaking up the sights, although to make sure you don’t miss any highlights, there’s also a town trail with 10 stops to take you past the key historic buildings.

Keep an eye out and you’ll see the markers on the pavement, but you can pick up a trail map from the Tourist Information Centre on the Market Square – there’s been a market in Saffron Walden since 1141, and on this site since the 13th century.

It still runs on Saturdays (and Tuesdays), with some delicious looking food for sale, as well as local Saffron Grange wine – the kind of place I suspect I’d spend a lot of money if I lived in Saffron Walden.

Around the corner, Hill Street Chocolate started off as one of the market stalls but has branched out to have its own shop, with another site in Cambridge.

The shelves were decked with Halloween-themed treats when we stepped inside, with chocolate pumpkins and ghosts, as well as rows and rows of boxes and individual chocolates almost too gorgeous to eat. (Almost).

Through a window, two of the staff were whipping up more chocolate creations, a task which can take days and requires incredible precision to get the layers just so, and the chocolate coating perfectly glossy.

The proof, of course, is in the tasting: from locally-inspired chocolates featuring saffron and Maldon sea salt, or local honey, as well as a new addition, Pear & Spice (definitely recommend that one), plus all manner of other fruity, creamy, chocolatey goodness.

Dragging ourselves away, we set off to explore Saffron Walden’s winding streets, past the 14th century buildings of the Old Sun Inn, the ruins of the castle and town museum (currently closed) and St Mary’s church, the largest parish church in Essex.

If you wander nowhere else, Castle and Bridge Streets are packed with the kind of historic cottages which make you start looking in estate agents’ windows and dreaming of escaping to the country. (Or is that just me?)

Don’t stroll too fast though, as down an alleyway lies the Fry Art Gallery and Bridge End Garden. The gallery is free, and houses works of the Great Bardfield group of artists, who lived in this part of the Essex countryside from the 1930s.

Although I don’t know the artists well, it’s definitely worth stopping in – the knowledgeable staff were full of background to fill in the gaps in my own information, as well as very welcoming to my eight-year-old, who was busy trying to decide which cat painting (and there were a surprising number) she would take home.

On the understanding, obviously, that she didn’t actually try to make off with one! Although she did get a postcard as a souvenir.

Wandering further down the alley brings you to the lovely Bridge End Gardens, recently restored using some of the original Victorian techniques, with a mix of formal gardens, flowers, a kitchen garden and ‘The Wilderness’.

The hedge maze is closed for the time being, but we wandered through the Dutch Garden and the area known as Jacob’s Well, past the Summerhouse and peeked through the gates into the walled garden. Even on a drizzly autumn day, it’s a gorgeous spot to stroll around.

Heading back to the town centre, there are still more medieval and Tudor buildings to spot – the Eight Bells pub (where we later headed for dinner… scroll down for more), Myddylton Place, the Old Cross Keys, where we were staying, and The Rows, where people have shopped for almost 400 years.

Visiting Audley End

But that was just the start – Saffron Walden makes a great base to explore the Essex countryside too, and Audley End house and gardens is only a few minutes’ drive away (there’s a discount if you prebook tickets).

The English Heritage site has reopened the house as well as the grounds, so you can wander through the Jacobean mansion, the ‘service wing’ (as the old kitchens, dairy and laundry are known), plus gardens and grounds where once an Abbey stood.

You’re not allowed to take photos inside but trust me, it is astonishing: walking into the ornate Great Hall, a little voice beside me said, ‘Wow!’ at the carved decorations, portraits galore and huge fireplace.

With a trail for my daughter to follow, spotting various little details dotted around the different rooms, she was kept busy seeking out a fairy on the fireplace fender, a goldfinch on a vase, animal carvings and a huge wine cooler with clawed feet.

Meanwhile, I was discovering that the library holds a first edition of Doctor Johnson’s dictionary, as the one-way system wound through the mansion past an impressive art collection, to finish at an unexpectedly extensive collection of taxidermy birds and animals.

And a conversation with my daughter about what the difference between a pheasant, a partridge and a grouse actually is. Um.

Happily I can spot a cygnet when I see one – three, in fact, preening their feathers by the River Cam as we strolled through the wonderfully named Elysian Garden, across the water to the cafe, play area (currently closed) and walled kitchen garden, where pumpkins were swelling in the flowerbeds, and apples dropping from the trees.

There are also formal gardens, including the parterre, and little temples and follies dotted around. But one of my favourite parts was the service wing, where videos projected on the walls showed the reality of servants’ lives (I felt worn out just looking at the huge butter churn and mangle).

In the kitchen, gleaming copper pans and dishes line the shelves, with spices and other ingredients stored away in the pantry. We had already seen the impressive spread on the dinner table in the main house, the result of hours of work by servants toiling away in this separate building.

Numbers are limited inside the smaller rooms here, as well as the grand rooms in the mansion, and face coverings required, but there’s so much to see that we rarely had to wait or keep our distance as we spent hours exploring.

More things to do in Essex with kids

It would be easy to while away a family weekend in Essex in and around Saffron Walden, but with other family attractions nearby and a series of pretty villages to discover, it’s worth leaving some time to explore nearby too.

We headed to nearby Thaxted, which has its own collection of pretty pastel buildings, thatched cottages and black and white timbered structures, as well as a 15th century Guildhall – wandering past the slightly higgledy-piggledy storeys, it’s amazing to think it’s over 600 years old.

Even more unexpected, for a village with fewer than 3,000 people, there are links to two very different famous names – composer Gustav Holst, who worked on The Planets in Thaxted before moving here in 1917 (you can see the blue plaque at his house), and notorious highwayman Dick Turpin.

Whether the 18th century villain really lived in the village, let alone in the building now called Dick Turpin’s cottage, is hard to say for sure… but it makes a good story, and it’s a lovely old building.

Not far away, John Webb’s windmill helped provide flour for 100 years and still towers over the village, a stone’s throw from the graveyard of Thaxted’s impressive church, one of the biggest in the county.

The whole church is 183 feet long, and as you drive across the countryside under the wide Essex skies, you see the steeple long before you get to Thaxted itself.

Another 15 minutes away, there’s history with a quirky twist in a very fun family attraction – the adventure golf course at Golf World Stansted.

The 18 holes (and a bonus one in a longship) wind between historic touches including wooden knights, a mock castle keep, a working water wheel and other little towers and figures to spot as you play.

My daughter is a huge fan of mini golf, so a bit of rain wasn’t going to put her off – even if we had to improvise a bit around some of the temporary water hazards.

Some of the holes look deceptively simple with cunningly disguised slopes and mini sand traps, as well as the chance of losing your ball in the rough, but it’s a nice balance between giving you a bit of a challenge and still being possible for kids to play.

There are more signs and carvings planned, and it’s definitely somewhere I’d love to go back to on a drier visit: we didn’t get chance to try it at its best!

If your kids love history, you’re also very close to Mountfitchet Castle and Norman Village, an open-air museum where you can experience life as it would have been in a medieval castle – the only one reconstructed on its original site in the world. Your ticket also gives you entry into a toy museum with 80,000 items from Victorian days on

While you’re in the area, don’t miss a Sunday roast at The Lion Inn in Boreham with its roaring fire and an impressive kids’ menu – not to mention a rather endearing topiary lion outside!

Where to eat in Saffron Walden

I had so much fabulous food during our weekend in Saffron Walden that it’s a good job we were spending the rest of the weekend walking around exploring.

And after eating out very little this year (unsurprisingly!), it felt like an extra treat to settle back with the menu and cocktails at the Eight Bells.

I was still full next morning after our fantastic meal there: definitely save room for dessert though, plus there’s a good kids’ menu along with a Kids Eat Free deal on Fridays between 5 and 7pm.

And whether you’re staying at the Cross Keys Hotel, as we were, or not, it’s worth booking in for dinner – delicious duck dumplings to start, and a gigantic burger were just a few of the treats on the menu.

You could happily nibble, graze and scoff your way around Saffron Walden though, with a whole string of independent cafes to try. It’s never bad to be able to indulge while feeling happy that you’re supporting locally owned businesses.

Cafe Coucou is known for its scones and had a windowful of very tempting bread, Kim’s Tea & Coffee House has over 50 types of tea if you need to stop for a cuppa.

Or the Curious Goat (now rebranded as The Goat and Grass) won my daughter over with its pancakes among the tempting array on the menu for a leisurely weekend brunch.

Where to stay in Saffron Walden

When you’re spending a weekend in Saffron Walden, with all its history and gorgeous buildings, there are few places better to stay than The Cross Keys – the half-timbered building dates back to the 16th century.

There are six rooms in the main building, as well as three more in an annexe where we stayed, reached up a metal fire escape, plus contactless check-in and check-out during our stay.

With big timber beams across the ceiling, a deep claw-foot bath in one corner (with a rainhead shower above it) and a fantastically comfy bed, there are plenty of modern comforts and more than enough space for the three of us.

Some rooms, including ours, have the toilet in a frosted glass cubicle in a corner of the room, rather than separate; others have Nespresso machines to use.

It did mean that we didn’t spend much time in the main hotel, where supposedly the ghost of a Cromwellian soldier, and a woman alleged to be Oliver Cromwell’s mistress, can be seen in the passageway and one of the upstairs bedrooms – as I found out after I checked out.

Although after a glass of wine in the restaurant, a long hot bath with apple-scented hotel toiletries and a fluffily squashy duvet to burrow under, it would have taken the ghost of the whole Roundhead army to stop me relaxing!

For more places to visit in Essex with kids, check out my tips for some of the best things to do in Colchester with kids, including Roman history, while you’re also half an hour from Cambridge

PIN FOR LATER: A WEEKEND IN ESSEX WITH KIDS

Disclosure: My trip was courtesy of Visit England and Visit Essex, as well as the various attractions, as part of the #EscapeTheEveryday campaign. All opinions, including my belief that there’s always somewhere new to discover in the UK and that you can never have too much chocolate, are my own.

Images copyright MummyTravels

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