Hylands Park

This is a beautiful house nearby Chelmsford. Had a wedding there. The grounds are wonderful to wonder around in and plenty of parking available. Very nice spacious rooms upstairs for use by brides and grooms.

Perfect place for a dog walk, loads of great paths with a variety of routes (woodlands, lake, open fields) and all secure. Often lots of dogs around looking to play, especially in the mornings.

Parking is a bit steep for visitors (£5 for the day) but locals can pay £9 per month which is worth it for us - here every day, often twice a day!

Beautiful well maintained park with a wide range of trees, flowers and other plants, some from warmer climates. A beautiful pond with lily pads and archways made of trees. A place I wouldn’t mind getting lost in.
Stables cafe serves a good range of food and coffee. There are a few small shops as well including a charity book shop which has a fairly remarkable collection. But the true gem of them all is the ice cream parlour near stables cafe, some of the best chocolate and salted ice cream I have had.

The Light trail was really magical...if you get a chance, go next year!!! No real distractions like Bratwurst and beer but there was a small bar and a coffee and cake outlet. All on the flat, so wheelchairs and buggies would be OK. Parking was very well managed to (and free).

Lovely and very well maintained park, the paths are excellent for both families and dog walkers alike. The only annoyance being they have recently introduced parking charges.

As of December 2021 after dusk the park turns into festive light show extravaganza, however, the tickets are quite pricey so be aware.

Went last night to go and see the Enlightened lights and what a pleasure it was, was very happy with the lights. Absolutely beautiful and most definitely done an amazing job with the park. £16 per adult which is pretty pricey, if it wasn't for the price for me and my husband we may have gone again, but definitely worth going the once.
NO toilets on site, however we were late, our booking was 9pm and we turned up around half pass due to weather and travelling from Ipswich.
Everyone was so friendly, so lovely and so kind about us showing up late and allowed us to go round, although it was pass their going home time. They allowed us to walk round the whole display, didn't tell us to hurry up and allowed us to go round however quick we wanted and still allowed time for photos and activities along the trail.

A big shoutout to the guy in the photo, my daughter absolutely loved him, and she went up to him and asked for a photo and he didn't think twice and allowed us, so thank you to the member of staff on the walk, such a lovely guy.. thank you 🙂

A beautiful park with ample, although no longer free, parking.
Take a stroll through a cosy ornamental garden or take a hike down the hill to a beautiful little lake. Then come back for a hot cup of coffee from the stall outside the cafe. Even though the cafe was closed for service, the doors were open to let us frozen walkers warm up with our drinks. Then don't go without peering in through the windows of Hylands House to see the beautiful decor.
A lovely place in any season.

Went along for the Dinosaurs in the park event, £17 for Adults, ~£15 for kids, children under 3 go free. Check Groupon for discounts 😉👊

Really good fun, the dinosaurs are spread along a trail in the park, really good quality and size, lots with movement and sound for the kids 🦕🦖. Not particularly scary either so no need to worry about the little ones unless they're really sensitive. At the end of the trail, there's a decent size fair with rides, games and the usual. Ticket price includes a colouring book and stickers as a prize for completing the trail, along with free entry to the bouncy castle and mini golf at the fair.

We've not been previously so also spent time at the park which is free anyway and the little one loved it. Lots of open fields around, plenty of people walking dogs and enjoying the space. Area is particularly scenic, with lots of spots to sit and have a picnic.

Great day out! 🥳