Great Notley Country Park

Home to Essex's longest play trail and Sky Ropes, Great Notley Country Park offers the perfect family day out.

At a glance

Opening times

Please note the park is open from 8am to dusk. The car park is open until 10.00pm.

The park is open every day.

For park enquiries: 0333 013 2900

For event enquiries: Events.ExploreEssex@essex.gov.uk

For filming enquiries: film@essex.gov.uk

Or for event and filming enquiries call: 03330 138222

Find & contact

Great Notley Country Park, Braintree, Great Notley, Essex, England, CM77 7FS
Get directions

0333 013 2900

country.parks@essex.gov.uk

Parking & prices

Up to 1 hour £2.50

Up to 2 hours £3.80

Up to 4 hours £5.10

All day £6.30

Car parking prices as of 1 April 2024

Up to one hour: £2.80

Up to two hours: £4.00

Up to four hours: £5.20

All day: £6.30

Please note that there is a 15 minute free drop-off and turnaround time for those using the 3G football pitches and other facilities that are accessed via the park.

How to pay

The car park at Great Notley is currently being migrated over to a pay and stay to bring it inline with the rest of the Essex Country Parks.

You can currently pay in the following ways:

  • Visit the MiPermit website
  • Download the MiPermit app from all the usual app stores
  • Use the onsite terminal
  • Call MiPermit on: 0345 520 7007 and quote Great Notley 702106
  • Text an SMS message to 61600 MiPermit with the word PARK and your vehicle registration number. For example: PARK T123EST
  • Read more on ways to pay and help at MiPermit

Discover the Explorer Pass from just over £1.63 a week, to save on multiple visits, valid at all Essex Country Parks.

Money from car parking is ultimately reinvested to maintain the park and protect its wildlife.

For any further enquiries please email: parking.explore@essex.gov.uk

At this place

  • Sky Ropes
  • Kid's Play Trail
  • Café
  • Wi-fi available
  • Dogs allowed
  • Picnics allowed
  • Fishing
  • BBQs not allowed
  • Mobility Scooter

*Skylark café welcomes well behaved dogs on leads.
Opening times are 8.30am to 3.30pm on weekends.

*Discover Sky Ropes at Great Notley. Book now for the school holiday.

*Visitor Notice - fishing*
An Environment Agency rod licence and a fishing permit is required. Fishing permits can be purchased here.

Introduction

Green Flag Award logo

Please note: The lift at Great Notley is currently our of order. Access to the café and the basement levels can be gained with pushchairs and wheelchairs. However, at present you cannot access the office or other floors without exiting and then entrancing the building again. We hope to have the lift working in due course.

Kid's Play Trail updates: Please note our water play has now closed but we hope to bring a new activity to the park in the future. Work is also taking place on what was the 'Climbing Forest'.

Read and Count with Me Under a Tree. Borrow a book bag in the park! Read more here.

Great Notley Country Park is proud to be the recipient of the Green Flag Award. Read more here.

Download our new map here.
Download the Active Essex 'Daily Mile' walking route as a PDF or Jpg.

Please visit safely. Always:

  • Keep dogs under control, keep dogs on the lead around the play trail
  • Respect other users on multi-use trails
  • Picnics are welcome but no BBQs
  • Be water aware and supervise children and dogs near ponds, rivers and lakes
  • Note that swimming is prohibited
  • Keep off the ice in the winter

Whether you're an adventurer at heart or just want to relax and unwind in beautiful countryside, Great Notley Country Park offers the perfect day out for all the family in Essex.

Covering 100 acres of open space the park is home to Sky Ropes, the fun, family friendly high ropes adventure course as well as Essex’s longest kid’s play trail.

Jump, swing, slide, crawl and climb your way around 1.2km of fun including giant seesaws, swing scales, rope climbers, slides, forts and a large sand play area.

Looking for something a bit quieter? The park also offers some lovely areas to explore and enjoy nature including a fishing lake and wildflower meadows. It’s popular for a wide range of activities including birdwatching, walking, cycling, fishing, horse riding, football, picnics and kite-flying.

Great Notley Country Park is delighted to have been awarded Green Flag status again this year as well as being nominated for the Fields in Trust Award for Best UK Park 2022.

Activities

Sky Ropes

Looking for a thrill and an unforgettable adventure with family and friends? Try Sky Ropes - Great Notley Country Park’s high ropes experience. There’s also Sky Ropes Junior, suitable for children from 2 years. Open every day throughout the school holidays.

Kid’s Play Trail

Come and explore our 1.2km play trail featuring a giant see-saw, tyre swings, sand play area, rope climbers, slides, forts and much more. Please note, some areas of our play trail are currently closed for maintenance including the whirlwind, rotating plate and suspension bridge.

The following parts of the play trail are open:
Giant See Saw, cross scales, toddler play area, wobbly sheep, jumping discs, quad hammock, wobble dishes, rotating disc, chain path, zip line, sand play transport/building system, sand play climbing frame, slide and ducks, whirlwind, queen swing, hex swing, pendulum swing, frog, wind pipes and sound roller.

Walking & Dogs

We strive to be accessible to all and as such our pathways are relatively flat. As well as many informal grassy pathways our main trail takes you around the park, including the play trail, lakes, wildflower meadows (where you can see wild orchids and ox-eye daisies depending on the season) and a small woodland. It’s a good route for dog walkers however we do ask that they are kept on the lead while in the play trail section.

Birdwatching & Wildlife

Bird and wildlife spotting are popular activities while out walking at Great Notley Country Park. You could see anything from skylarks, owls and woodpeckers to bats, foxes and weasels.

Cycling

A 1.8-km cycling and horse-riding route cuts north-south through Great Notley Country Park. A fairly flat, hard-surface track, it’s perfect for cycling as a family and a great place for younger children to become more confident on their bikes. Please note that we don't currently have any hire facilities, so bring your own!

Fishing

You can fish in the large lake in the south of the park. You can fish with up to two rods but you must have an Environment Agency rod licence and a fishing permit(s) before you visit.

Please see our fishing terms and conditions here.

A daily permit is available to purchase here.

Please note: We operate a closed season on the lakes within all our parks during May and June.

Football Pitches and Games Area

The park’s 3G (3rd Generation) artificial turf football pitches are suitable for playing in all weather. There are full and half pitches, and a multi-use game area (MUGA) for tennis, basketball, netball and more.

To hire our football pitches or games area, call Braintree District Council on 01376 332326.

Horse Riding

Horse riding is popular at the park with the designated horse-riding route cutting North-South through the park. Bring your own horse, and please stick to the bridleway.

Volunteering

Want to give something back or learn something new? We work closely with the Friends of the Flitch Way and Associated Woodlands, with volunteer work undertaken most Tuesdays and Thursdays (during term-time). So come along, get involved and learn some new skills – you might find yourself helping to construct fencing or even a bridge! For more information please visit: https://www.friends-of-the-flitch-way.org.uk/


Facilities

The Visitor's Centre (Discovery Centre)

For enquiries please call 03330 132900 between 8.00am to 4.00pm.

Toilets

Public toilets are located at the park’s visitor centre and include accessible and baby changing facilities.

Open from 9.30am until 4.00pm

Changing Places

*Currently out of order due to vandalism - we are working to get this facility fixed as quickly as we can*

A changing places facility located on the ground floor at the rear of the visitor's centre. It is open every day from 8am until dusk. Access is at the back of the centre, which is all paved.


Mobility Scooter

A mobility scooter is available to hire from the Discovery Centre building.

Call to book in advance: 03333 0132900

The max period of loan will be between 10am and 3.30pm.

Accessibility

Full information on access to Great Notley Country Park can be found on AccessAble (formerly Disabled Go).

History

Excavations in Great Notley revealed the remains of Iron Age and Roman settlements with a series of enclosures overlaid with a Roman development on the site of the Skyline Business Park. It is thought that there was a series of occupations on the site from the late Iron Age onwards, which included brewing, farming and the production of textiles.

Great Notley Country Park however is relatively new, having been created from the remnants of Gt Notley Village when it was developed as part of the new 'self-sustaining' garden village.

It has grown up with the community surrounding it, and is quite unique in that its wildflower meadows, lakes and other landmarks were created from scratch and over the years have grown and developed in to what you see today.

Shop, Eat & Drink

Eating and Drinking

The café offers light refreshments such as hot and cold drinks, ice creams, cakes and snacks all subject to availability.

*Poor weather and exceptions may apply.

We welcome dogs on leads into the café.

For enquiries or further information, please call 03330 132900



Image gallery

Featured events at Great Notley

Two smiling girls in a hammock

Events

Family Forest School at Great Notley Country Park

Following the success of Spooky Forest School in 2023, we are pleased to confirm a brand NEW Family Forest School running once a month on Saturdays at Great Notley Country Park.

  • Dates:
    • May 18, 2024
    • June 1, 2024
    • July 6, 2024
    • August 10, 2024
    • September 7, 2024
  • Venue: Great Notley Country Park
  • Times: 11:00am - 2:00pm
  • For the whole family
  • Price: £10

Where to find us

Featured events at Great Notley Country Park

Two smiling girls in a hammock

Events

Family Forest School at Great Notley Country Park

Following the success of Spooky Forest School in 2023, we are pleased to confirm a brand NEW Family Forest School running once a month on Saturdays at Great Notley Country Park.

  • Dates:
    • May 18, 2024
    • June 1, 2024
    • July 6, 2024
    • August 10, 2024
    • September 7, 2024
  • Venue: Great Notley Country Park
  • Times: 11:00am - 2:00pm
  • For the whole family
  • Price: £10

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