Wat Tyler Centre - Basildon

Glenn H.

A great country park with cafe, outside seating, a large kids play park and interesting walks along the river and woods here. It made for a nice few hours out as a family with ice creams or slushes as a treat in the sunshine.

Ricky M.

Presently surprised.
The wife said 'I've found this kids park'
So we went to take a look and it's a lovely area.
The park is a good size, lots to do.

There is a cafe/hut next to the park, the coffee and hot chocolate they make is lovely.

Lots of nice long walk around the area and the marina too 😀

Dave H.

Went with family and grandchildren. Our first visit. Very popular outdoor site.

The miniature railway has recently been fully restored and was a very popular attraction with constant queues. It covers the whole site and at just £4/person is good value.

There is a large visitor centre on site with a cafe. Nearby is a large children's play area too. This is unsupervised. Most of the equipment is in hood order, however some pieces of equipment are in need of maintenance. The children's roundabout was not usable as it was jammed. Two hanging circular pieces are in need of lubrication.

There are many walking trails around the park. We didn't see much of the full site. We didn't see enough waste bins. There are some, but there could be more. Dogs are allowed. We didn't see and dog waste bins however and some owners were not picking up after their dogs...

There is a marina, but we didn't get that far.

We would return again.

Its free to enter and park. Overall a good family site.

Dave S.

I went there with my daughter in some spare time in December in hope to do a bit of bird watching and was very disappointed. The RSPB building appears to have closed now. Of the 2 Hides, one was locked up and the staff never offered a key, and the other Hide had no seating or information panels.
The footpaths are unmarked and poorly maintained. We we unsure where we were and one grass trail was completely churned up by vehicles.
We came across some Information panels about different kinds of aggregate, but it was so overgrown we couldn't see what it was about.
The best thing we came across was the wooden statues (pictured).
It's a real shame as the park is in a great location for wildlife; it just felt a bit run down.
In the Wat Tyler building there appeared to be educational things going on for children, which is great.
The gift shop is tiny, as was the Christmas Market.

LM A.

The playground here is really good and spacious, probably one of the best we have been to for a country park. There are not many signs etc, like for toilets or for the steam train. A lot of people were confused on where to go for it. It would also help to put what time the steam train is open as I advised people that were waiting there that they had closed. Also, we were there at 3.45pm for the train as it said it closed at 4pm and it had already left… surely if it closes at 4pm then that should be when it leaves. I guess we will return again to go on the steam train. I like that it is free parking as a lot of country parks are charged. I would recommend visiting.

Delwar H.

Visited this park in a typical hot summer afternoon. It has got walkways, kids playground, cafe, plenty of free picnic space. Wat Tyler centre has got a gift shop and toilet facility which closes at 4:30 pm. However the kids playground and park remain open till 7pm. Plenty of parking space at Green centre in the beginning then Wat Tyler centre in the middle and Marine centre at the end. There was a mini rail ride but it is not working for last few years. In the marine centre one can enjoy the view of water body but no option for boat ride. Some bring their personal boat towing by car. Overall okay but nothing special.

K J.

Great day out for kids big playground nice walk for dogs and the family

Amanda E.

A lovely place for a walk and to take the whole family.