Essex Walks
Set within the expansive grounds of Thorndon Country Park, these walks offer something for everyone, from playful family adventures to longer woodland rambles.
The shorter route follows the popular Gruffalo trail, a buggy and wheelchair-friendly option where children can spot character sculptures along the way.
If you’re looking to escape the busiest areas and explore more of the park, the longer of the walks ventures deeper into majestic woodland, past quiet ponds and across open pasture with wide views.
Whether you’re visiting for a fun family outing or a more peaceful leg-stretch through varied scenery, these walks showcase the very best of Thorndon Country Park.
Download the Essex Walks App to follow these routes with real-time GPS navigation.
Walk information
Thorndon Country Park is a great day out for the whole family.
There are lots of walking routes including woodland, wildlife, open parkland, streams and lakes.
This short route is the nice family-friendly Gruffalo trial what is good for buggies/wheelchairs and great for the kids as they hunt out the Gruffalo animal sculptures on the route.
Walk information
This second route is a much longer walk for those that want to avoid the Gruffalo hunting crowds and stretch their legs a bit more more whilst exploring the full expanse of the Thorndon Country Park.
You can expect a nice varied walk with majestic woodland, woodland ponds and open pastures with nice views.
Based on 4 user ratings
An outstanding walk
Real feedback from people who have completed this walk using the Essex Walks app.
First-hand experiences
Walked today 20/11/24 very cold bright sunny day,perfect to get some fresh air over woods and fields . Have been to Thorndon Park before but this walk took us off the beaten track to explore bigger area . Very enjoyable. If you have children with you i would recommend incorporating the Gruffalo trail.
A good walk through woods fields
Navigate the walks
It's like sat-nav, but for footpaths.
Choose a walk and follow the pointer showing your live position on the route map, so you always know you're on the right path.
The app works without a phone signal, so you can keep following the route wherever the walk takes you.
Explore the area
1 miles
1.75-4 miles
1.75-3.75 miles
0.5-4.75 miles
1.25 miles
4.25 miles
1.25-2 miles
1-2.5 miles
0.75-1.75 miles
1.75-6 miles
2 miles
1-3 miles
4.25 miles
4.25 miles
0.5-1.25 miles
Explore the county
See where the walks start, explore the area and tap a pin to find a route for your next adventure.
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