| some rooms also offer separate living areas and work desks. there's a restaurant specialising in seafood and steak, as well as an on-site cocktail bar. the informal rooms feature en suite bathrooms, flat-screen tvs and free wifi, plus tea and coffeemaking equipment. check-in time: 2:00 pmcheck-out time: 11:00 am. this unpretentious guesthouse, set in a 19th-century building, is a 3-minute walk from the dengie hundred sports centre and a 7-minute walk from burnham-on-crouch train station
Heathrow Airport 1 hr 42
Wallasea Island (1 hr 1)
Accessed by a ferry, this peaceful island features farm & wetlands, wildlife, camping & a marina. Adventure Island (49 min)
Free-admission fun park with more than 40 rides and attractions from rollercoasters to ghost trains. RHS Garden Hyde Hall (25 min)
Site run by horticulture charity, including bird hide and Dry Garden with bold architectural plants. Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre (44 min)
Community centre for sports tuition with a gym running group classes and on-site swimming pool. Two Tree Island (45 min)
Grassy island nature reserve with walking paths & designated birdwatching areas. Sealife Adventure (48 min)
Sea life aquarium with sharks in walk-through tunnel tank, plus rays, turtles and insect displays. Blackwater Estuary National Nature Reserve (54 min)
Estuary and marsh Marsh Farm Animal Adventure Park (21 min)
Working farm with sheep, bunnies and ferrets, plus tractor rides, a bouncy castle and magic shows. Westcliff Beach (46 min)
Modest, classic beach for swimming & walks at low tide, with a nearby casino & ice cream parlor. Bell Wharf Beach (45 min) Southend Pier and Railway (49 min)
Seasonal museum on the pier with 19th- & early-20th-century train cars, slot machines & costumes. Mangapps Railway (4 min)
Steam and diesel locomotives run along this heritage railway, with a museum of train memorabilia. Southend Central Museum & Planetarium (44 min)
Exhibitions of local natural history and archaeological treasures including a haul of Saxon gold. Prittlewell Priory (43 min) Hadleigh Castle (41 min)
Ruined 1200s castle, refortified by Edward III in the Hundred Years War, affording marsh views. | 
