
Day Trips
If you are spending your holiday on Mersea Island, there are lots of great places just a short drive from the island for your family to enjoys a great day trip.
Why not visit Colchester Zoo for a full day of animal magic!? Colchester town centre is just 20 minutes drive from Mersea Island and is a great place for shopping and dining. Also in the town centre are many of Colchester's museums including Colchester Castle, Hollytrees Museum and the Natural History Museum.
Other local towns include Maldon, Braintree and Ipswich with their many beautiful surrounding villages. Dedham, just North of Colchester on the Essex/Suffolk Border is in the heart of Constable Country and has lots of lovely shops and eateries. While you are there, you caould rent a boat and try your hand at rowing to the historical Flatford Mill.
The Essex seaside towns of Brightlingsea and St Osyth are great places to visit and a daytrip to these towns via the foot ferry from East Mersea is a great day out for th family.
For views of Mersea Island from the water, why not take a trip on the Lady Grace, departing regularly from the Causeway on Coast Road.
For many more day trip ideas, visit the blogs below!

Cudmore Grove Country Park
At the eastern end of Mersea Island, at Cudmore Grove you’ll find a sandy beach, impressive views, grassland, meadows for relaxation and walks that will take you past interesting historical sites and an abundance of wildlife. The park is popular on hot summer days, with its sandy beach and co...


Redwood Stonebaked Pizza Bar
Redwood Stonebaked opened in March 2016 offering Neopolitian style pizzas cooked in an authentic wood fired pizza oven. They also serve fresh waffles and ice cream as well as paninis and calzone during lunch times. The environment is relaxed and casual in nature. For more information you can visit t...


How do I get to Mersea Island?
We have had a few questions on how to get to Mersea Island, so we thought we would put some information together for you. Before setting off on your journey, ensure you check the tide times as this could affect your journey. Click here to check tide times. By Car From the A12 leave at junc...


Mersea Island Museum
We are an independent museum established in 1976 and occupying purpose-built premises in the centre of West Mersea, just to the east of the Parish Church. The traditional local activities of fishing, oystering, wild fowling and boat building are represented. The reconstruction within the museum of a...


Is my dog allowed on the beaches at Mersea Island?
We frequently are asked about the rules regarding dogs on Mersea beaches and we have a definitive answr for you right here! West Mersea Town Council say that Mersea beach works on a "Live and Let Live" basis and the beach is used by thousands of people for many leisure activities - sometimes t...


Mersea Island Brewery
Mersea Island Brewery produce a range of distinctive real ales from award winning Oyster stout to refreshing Island Gold and everything inbetween. *Information & photo about Mersea Island Brewery is from their website which you can visit here....


Lady Grace Boat Trips
Lady Grace Boat Trips runs the 20 minute trips 7 days a week all year round, times vary based on the time of year but you can always ring to check operating times for the day. No need to book, just turn up at the end of the jetty and wait for the boat to return. We have no sets time...


West Mersea Town Regatta
The biggest event on the Mersea Island calendar is always the West Mersea Town Regatta! The date for the Regatta is of course is of course completely reliant on an afternoon tide to ensure enough water for the afternoon's events to take place. The past few years have seen some miserable weat...


The Little Beach Hut Company, West Mersea
Want a release from thinking about the real world. A haven of peace and tranquility where you can boil a kettle, make a brew, lie back in a deck chair and listen to the sea lapping at your feet. Then The Little Beach Hut Company is just for you. Based on Mersea Island our beach hut...


Stuck by the tide?
It's amazing how often the topic of the high tide at the Strood comes up in conversation on Mersea. Locals want to keep the Strood as it is, others want to see it raised and many holiday makers worry they will be stranded on or off the island for days on end!! Either way, the flooding of the s...


A great day out... Walk around the Island
When I speak to people on Mersea Island, the majority of them, even those who have lived here for years, have never challenged themselves to walking the circumference of the Island. For those who are physically fit and able to do so, it is a great day out and a great achievement! I myself have...
