Great Notley Discovery Centre and Park

Stopped on an off chance. Glad we did. Good walks twiste in and out for over an hour and did over 2 miles. Easy pay parking. Cafe limited opening as are the toilets. Great place for children.

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Cafe shuts at 3pm (Friday) but public toilets open for a little longer and accessible just round the side. Lots of wide open spaces and plenty of natural wildlife to see and pockets of little amusements for kids as you walk around. Picnic benches and benches scattered about. A bit scarce on bins (led by design I think) and shaded areas near some things so if you want a spot to settle out of the sun without a toddler wandering off down a steep bit or into taller grasses etc less than ideal. There are lakes (or a lake) yet to be discovered by us which sounds cool. I think perfect for older kids who can and will just embrace play and adventure. A bit too much effort to get there by foot with little pay off if your kids have no sensibility or who cling to you suffocatingly...

· via Google

We had a great time meeting up with friends with 5 kids between us ages 3-10. We took bikes & scooters and it's all really accessible. Quite dusty with the dry weather but that's to be expected. We only did the play trail but there's longer walks / cycle tracks you can take and lots of open space. Not a great deal of shade was the only thing and not many benches but we sat on the grass. Not a bin to be seen the whole way round but it was free from litter. The only downside is that the only toilets are in the main building which is quite a way from some of the play equipment. We were down the other end by the new play equipment for quite a while so it's a bit inconvenient but the youngest did a few alfresco wees. The new play equipment is brilliant, this is a real gem! There are toilets on the same floor as the cafe but then others downstairs which you can access from just to the left of the Reception desk for the Sky Ropes (through the doors and then there's a few down the corridor - 2 at one end and then further down the corridor a disabled and another. There's also a Changing Places toilet on the bottom floor right next to the door (on the left) as you go in. I didn't go in there though so can't comment on what it's like. Overall we had a great time, the Sky Ropes looked good although we didn't do it, there was an ice cream van on site (we visited on a sunday) and a real variety of play equipment to suit the various ages we had with us. Us adults could relax and chat! Plenty of parking without walking too far.

· via Google

different play activities on a walk route, keeps the kids playing and adults feeling like they’ve had some activity rather than sitting and watching. Also has nice big open spaces for large groups wanting picnic/play/football space. Sky ropes are well maintained, staff knowledgeable and good value. No cafe during summer holidays though. Staff members thought it should be open end of Aug…not very well thought out renovation planning!! No other food/drinks available other than a ice cream van (staff were great and ice cream well priced) Main walk way up to the park is taped off with signs to use alternative route so we had to walk up and down down a steep grassy bank so not great for access. Hopefully this will be sorted for the cafe re-opening!

· via Google