The Gruffalo giveaways and selfie competition

Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026

Head down to the 'deep, dark woods' at Thorndon Country Park this October half term and you could be the lucky finders of The Gruffalo tickets.

Each day a limited number will be hidden around the trail at different times of the day by our Rangers for visitors to find!

If you are lucky enough to find a winning ticket, please take it into the shop at the Countryside Centre to redeem it for a lucky dip of The Gruffalo and Friends goodies.

Share your experience on social media @exploressex @thorndonsouth #GruffaloEssex

Running Monday 24 October to Sunday 8 November 

Not found a winning gruffalo ticket? Not to worry!

There is another chance to win with our selfie competition.

Simply take your best selfies with our gruffalo board and share on social media using the hashtag and tagging us in to be in for a chance to win.

Selfies need to be shared between Monday 24 October and Sunday 8 November 2026 to be automatically entered into our prize draw.

@exploressex @thorndonsouth #GruffaloEssex

Full terms and conditions below.

Morning of FREE gruffalo activities for all the family at Thorndon Country Park

Thursday 29 October 2026

• Drop in storytime with Essex Library Service in the marquee 10.30am to 12.30pm
• Drop in themed activities on the trail from 10.00am to 2.00pm

Explore Essex Prize Draw Full Terms and Conditions

1. This prize draw is organised by Explore Essex, part of Essex County Council (ECC), County Hall, Market Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1QH.

2. By entering the prize draw, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions.

3. Prize draw entry is free and no purchase is necessary to enter the competition.

4. The winner will be selected at random after the closing date of Sunday 23.59 GMT 8 November 2026.

5. ECC accepts no responsibility for entries not received for whatever reason. ECC will not accept:

(a) responsibility for competition entries that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit, regardless of cause, including, for example, as a result of any postal failure, equipment failure, technical malfunction, systems, satellite, network, server, computer hardware or software failure of any kind; or

(b) proof of posting or transmission as proof of receipt of entry to the competition.

ELIGIBILITY

6. Entrants must be UK residents and aged 18 years (parents can enter on behalf of their child or family).

7. Physical prizes must be collected from the closest participating Essex Country Park or Cressing Temple Barns where possible.

8. Competitions are not open to Explore Essex or Essex Outdoors employees, or to any immediate family of those employees.

9. In entering the competition, entrants confirm that they are eligible to do so and eligible to claim the prize. ECC may require proof of eligibility.

10. Prize draw entries that are not submitted in accordance with:

• these terms and conditions; and

• the advertised competition entry procedure

will be automatically disqualified.

11. ECC will not accept competition entries that are:

(a) automatically generated by computer;

(b) completed by third parties or in bulk;

(c) illegible, have been altered, reconstructed, forged or tampered with;

(d) photocopies and not originals; or

(e) incomplete.

12. There is a limit of one entry to the competition per entrant.

13. ECC reserves all rights to disqualify any competition entry where:

(a) the entrant’s conduct is contrary to the spirit or intention of the prize competition;

(b) the entrant uses false information; or

(c) it has reasonable grounds to believe that the entrant has breached any of these terms and conditions.

14. ECC reserves the right to implement any age requirements or any other eligibility criteria where necessary.

THE PRIZE

15. There is one prize for each winner and each winner will receive a prize to the same value.

16. No cash alternative is available. ECC reserve the right to substitute the advertised prize for another of equal or greater value should the original prize become unavailable.

17. The prize is not negotiable or transferable.

CLAIMING THE PRIZE

18. Winners will be notified of their win via an email.

19. Winners must claim the prize within 7 working days of the date of the notification email.

20. If a prize is not claimed within 7 days, the winner will be disqualified, and an alternative winner will be selected at random from the correct entries that were received.

21. ECC reserves the right to re-draw the prize if the winner cannot be contacted within 7 working days or the notification email is returned as undeliverable.

22.The prize may not be claimed by a third party on winner’s behalf.

23. ECC does not accept any responsibility if the prize is not claimed within the specified time limit or the winner is not able to take up the prize.

Liability

24. Insofar as is permitted by law, ECC, its agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the winner or accept any liability for any loss, damage , personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize except where it is caused by the negligence of ECC, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. Your statutory rights are not affected.

Data Protection and Publicity

25. ECC will only process your personal information as set out on the Essex County Council privacy policy.

26. In the event that you win this competition and accept the prize, you agree to:

(a) grant ECC the right to use your name and likeness for advertising and publicity purposes without additional compensation; and

(b) the use of any photographs or video footage to be featured on ECC’s web pages or social media sites.

27. Entrants will only be contacted regarding the specific competition they have entered.

GENERAL

28. If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, ECC may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude any entrant from participating in the competition.

29. ECC reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the competition where it becomes necessary to do so.

30. The Promoter claims rights to the photograph

31. In the event of any dispute regarding the competition, the final decision of ECC shall be final and binding and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into.

32. These terms and conditions shall be governed by English law, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.