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Essex offers bucketloads of charm and too much to see and do in a mere day. Stay for a night or two in gorgeous boutique hotels or rustic retreats and explore the beach-clad coastline, secret islands, dreamy gardens, bountiful vineyards and abundant arts and culture.

Coastal Charm: Southend

Southend was once the fun-filled Essex coastal spot where East Londoners headed to each summer, perennially associated with the classic British seaside icons: donkeys, ice creams and Victorian piers. There are still ice creams to be had at famous seafront ice-cream parlour Rossi and the pier is said to be the longest in the world. Next to it, Adventure Island theme park lights up the seafront at night with its whirring big wheel and thrilling roller coaster rides. The Roslin Beach is a boutique four-star spa hotel overlooking the quiet beach at Thorpe Bay, just outside Southend, it’s ideal for those looking for a pamper by the sea, rooms are priced from £70 per room. Holidaymakers can also enjoy a short break at the Holiday Inn Southend, which has some availability through the summer. Rooms are priced from £90.

Happy Campers: Lee Valley

Get back to nature and take the family camping. Lee Valley campsites in Sewardstone and Edmonton are close to London yet feel refreshingly rural with so much nature to play in including the 1,000-acre River Lee Country Park or Gunpowder Park laced with cycling and walking routes. You’re close to nearby Waltham Abbey, a market town home to 12th-century church and graceful gardens. Stay in cute wooden pods, hire or a tent or pitch your own. Touring pitches from £19.20 per night (inclusive of two people and one car).  

Radio City: Chelmsford 

The birthplace of radio, with the vibrant new Bond Street shopping centre adding a John Lewis and plenty of waterfront bars and restaurants, Chelmsford is barely 30-minutes by train from London. The only Essex city also has a racecourse and plenty of history and green space in the form of Hylands House built in 1730, with restored interiors and hundreds of acres of parkland (home to the annual V Festival now the New World Fest). The medieval Cathedral features stained glass and a colourful ceiling. To the southeast, RHS Garden Hyde Hall has hilltop views and includes a rose garden and a woodland garden. The County Hotel is a 50-bed four-star offering serene and elegant rooms and suites close to the heart of the city. Rooms are priced from £75 per night.  

Roman Holiday: Colchester 

A growing restaurant scene, the £25million copper-clad Firstsite arts centre designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly and a freshly revamped Mercury Theatre give the UK’s oldest recorded Roman town much to offer visitors. There’s the Norman castle with interactive displays and Colchester Zoo with 200-species set in 60 acres of parkland. From here, Mersea island is an easy drive, famed for its old-world charm, seafood restaurants and Native oysters. New boutique hotels include Greyfriars, a revamped Georgian mansion, and the 500-year-old George Hotel, just reopened this summer with luxurious décor, a Moroccan-style courtyard and Victorian-inspired tearoom. On the famous University of Essex rolling campus parkland, 15-minutes from Colchester town centre, Wivenhoe House Hotel, a modernised Jacobean mansion once painted by Constable, has rooms from £118.75 per night. 

Constable Country: Dedham Vale 

Named after the Romantic artist John Constable, who lived and worked among the picturesque cottages, rolling fields and meadows, this unspoilt patch of north Essex countryside rubs shoulders with neighbouring Suffolk. Bucolic landscapes remain much as they were in his day, drawing visitors year-round to explore it on foot, by bike or rowing boat. The riverside inspiration for The Hay Wain, the artist’s most famous picture, celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. The handful of mainly timber-framed hotels includes Milsoms, a boutique hotel blending country comfort with a witty urban edge. The relaxed brasserie restaurant and an open kitchen serving inventive seasonal food overlook sprawling mature gardens with outside seating, with rooms from £180 B&B per night.

Push the Boat Out: Burnham-on-Crouch 

Many people have never heard about this unspoilt riverside town known as the 'Cowes of the East Coast.’ With an attractive quayside lined with listed buildings, boat-building yards and sailing clubs, water sports fans from yachties to kayakers and paddleboarders flock here while children can indulge in a spot of crabbing. Book a last-minute staycation at the wood-clad Thatched Cottages sleeping between two and four people (self-catering) a short stroll from the estuary priced from £400 per week. Or relax after a sparkling-wine tasting at Hall Cottages at Crouch Ridge Vineyard, sleeping comfortably in apartments created from a converted dairy, sleeping four, priced from £650 per week. 

To discover more about staycations, short breaks and long weekends in Essex, go to visitessex.com