Weald Park, Brentwood, Essex
08. Nov, 2010 
At nearly 500 acres it is the largest of the Essex County Council Country Parks. Parkland has been established here for more than 700 years; the lakes, the tree-lined avenues, and large parkland trees are the result of the landscaping carried out in the 18th century.
The park landscape at Weald has been sculptured over time, from deer park to formal gardens and lakes. Little remains of the great hall that once overlooked the parkland that you see today. The site of the hall is now covered by the Belvedere car park, but from here you can discover some brick steps that would have led to the gardens and the base of the Belvedere – a tower built to admire the views down to the lake, used, at one time, as a family museum by the Tower family.
However the woods and park remain to be enjoyed by all. Bluebells carpet the floor of the woodlands in spring, and the rhododendrons add fiery splendour in May. With the birds around the lake bright in their spring plumage, it is a great time of year to visit the bird hide on the large lake.
The park was once a deer park used for hunting and fallow deer have been reintroduced. They are no longer able to roam free, but can be visited in their enclosure by the Visitor Centre. They look their best in autumn as the males display their fine antlers as they enter the rut.
The rangers also host a variety of activities throughout the year including the Weald Country Park Show and Santa’s Grotto. Activities for children vary from investigating flowers and insects to kite making and Halloween walks. In addition there are many educational walks and tours for family and adults on topics such as natural history, fungi and country park management.
Car parks can be found on Weald Road and Lincolns Lane.
source: http://www.visitparks.co.uk/
Opening Hours / Event Time and Date:
8 am til dusk
Admission / Cost:
Free
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This lovely park was once landscaped by Capability Brown and has a lot to amuse children.
There is a Visitor’s Centre with small cafe and shop and near the Visitor’s Centre are some deer in an enclosure.
The deer are very fond of carrots and can be hand fed through the fence. If you’re lucky you may see deer running wild through the park too. We saw a group of 22 today.
There are two lakes, one of which is equipped with a bird hyde. Ducks, moorhens, coots, Canada geese and swans can all be found at the lake just down the hill from the visitor centre.
The park has a mixture of wide open spaces and forest and there are paths all around. Maps are available and occasionally the Park Rangers run a treasure hunt or other activity aimed at families.
Make sure everyone’s wearing wellies as it can be muddy, especially after rain.
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