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Amazing maize maze

Try the drinks at The Big Bear Cider Mill, with over 3000 trees. Pepper the clay pigeons at Fennes Shooting School. Get pampered at The Retreat in Dunmow. Tackle the Sky Ropes at Great Notley Country Park and the amazing maize maze at Cammas Hall Farm, or enjoy a feeding frenzy at White Elm Petting Farm.

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Country kids

Let them loose in 100 acres of open space at Great Notley Country Park, home to Junior Sky Ropes, a family-friendly high-ropes adventure course, and Essex’s longest kids’ play trail with giant see-saws, swing scales and a climbing forest. Or meet the alpacas at Stanton’s Farm.

Enjoy the play area, nature trail, tea barn and maize maze, then pick your own at Cammas Hall Farm. Watch the stock cars at Stansted Raceway. Take part in a feeding frenzy for over 100 animals at White Elm Petting Farm. Or feed four breeds of cattle and six flocks of rare sheep at Baylham House Rare Breeds Farm.

Enjoy some movie magic at Empire Cinema in Bishop’s Stortford. Tour Henry Moore’s former home, gardens and studios. Or try Blake House Craft Centre for a nine-hole miniature golf course with fun ramps, cool bridges and cute windmills, plus a jungle gym and specialist arts and crafts shops.

Find a fun open-air museum at Mountfitchet Castle where you can travel back over 900 years to witness life in a medieval Motte and Bailey castle. Book tennis at Braintree and Bocking public gardens. Or visit the House on the Hill, the largest-known privately owned toy museum in Europe, with more than 80,000 examples.

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 Royal Oak Manor - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes
For the grown upsFor the grown upsFor the grown upsFor the grown ups

For the grown ups

Discover plenty of beautiful walking trails and public footpaths or get out to the gardens of Easton Lodge, an idyllic haven in a Gothic-style stately home. Or head to Braintree for the museum, telling the history of the town from the prehistoric era, or the cosmopolitan street market with its artisan bakery and handmade gifts.

Pick your own fruit at Wash Farm. Try the drinks at The Big Bear Cider Mill, where they regenerated a disused gravel pit into a flourishing orchard with over 3000 trees of 20 different varieties. Book a day brewing experience at Bishop Nick. Or hack across the hills with Maple Pollard Riding Centre.

Keep the clay-pigeon population down in 100 acres of beautiful North Essex countryside and woodland at Fennes Shooting School, with trap towers up to 120ft. Pay and play as a visitor from Monday to Friday at pretty Bishop’s Stortford Golf Club. Or try The Retreat in Dunmow for pampering packages such as facials and massage.

Rob the bank, escape the haunted prison or find the lost cats at Bishop’s Stortford Escape Rooms. Catch live theatre action at South Mill Arts. Get your credit card ready for big-brand shopping at Jackson Square, and refuel in Nando’s. Or be baffled by some of the best magicians in the world at McFriday Night Magicians.

Happy hens (and stags)

Hens (and stags) love a little luxury and Royal Oak Manor supplies that in spades. It’s a big and beautiful renovation with heavy beams, luxury bathrooms and contemporary kitchen with Aga. Amp up the luxury and call in a private chef for the evening or for a fully catered break.

On site, the entertainment never tires, with heated outdoor pool with pool house, well-equipped gym, cinema room and games room complete with pool table and arcade games. Pop out at night for a swift Sancerre or passionfruit Martini in the 15th-century Swan Inn or jump onto the M11 and revel in the lights and sights of London.

Head into town for pampering packages at The Retreat, including facials, massage, holistic treatments, waxing, threading and lashes. Book a cocktail-making class with Mario. Give it your best shot with indoor and outdoor archery at Essex Outdoors. Or wade into wakeboarding, kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding at Curve Watersports.

Get down to Braintree for bubble football at the sport and health club. Enjoy multicoloured, semi-automatic chaos at Mayhem Paintball. Enjoy four-wheeled fun with outdoor go-karting, quad-biking, motocross and off-road driving at Wild Tracks. Or get all sophisticated with afternoon tea at Jardins in Braintree.

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Royal Oak Manor - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes