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Another great choice for a family walk in Essex is Thorndon Country Park. Meet the Gruffalo and his friends along the Gruffalo Trail enjoy exploring the paths and wildlife along the way.

Address

The Avenue, Warley, Brentwood CM13 3RZ

Parking and Facilities

There is ample pay and display parking on site when you enter Thorndon Country Park from the north entrance.

Pricing is £2.20 for one hour, £3.30 for 2 hours, £4.40 for 3 hours and £5.50 for over 3 hours.

If you are planning to visit another Essex Country Park in the same day, such as Weald Country Park to visit Stick Man, it’s handy to know that your parking ticket is valid in both places.

Shopping

Before you head off to find the Gruffalo, take some time to visit the the Countryside Centre open from 9am to 5pm.

Inside you will find a tearoom and a shop that sells all things Gruffalo just in case you wanted to purchase a souvenir of your day, along with jams, cards, books, sweets and general goodies.

You can also purchase a map of the Gruffalo Trial for 50p.

It’s a little bit of added fun to let your kids follow the map around the trail, and all of the funds go towards the up keep of the park.

The Gruffalo Trial

Start the trail with the mouse, creep up on the fox, say hello to all the other woodland friends and then finally discover the Gruffalo!

Discover Even More

You can also discover the joys of a wooded walk and teach your little ones about bivouacs and how to read the age of a tree!

Picnics and Play

Don’t forget to pack some snacks and a drink to enjoy on the way round.

And you can also pack a picnic to make more of a day out of it before you you decide to take on one of the other walks around the north entrance.

O, and don’t forget to look out for the squirrel!

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If you want to explore another Essex Country Park head over to Weald Country Park to meet Stickman!