West Mersea is one of the Essex parks in the Park Holidays UK collection, at Mersea Island.
West Mersea sits on Mersea Island, which is joined to the Essex mainland by the Strood, a causeway that floods at high spring tides.
Checking the tide table before you drive off the island is a genuine part of staying here, and children find the whole idea excellent.
A local day out: Cudmore Grove Country Park
At the eastern end of the island, where the Colne meets the Blackwater. Grassland, a beach, a wartime pillbox and cliffs that shed fossils and prehistoric animal bones. There are hides overlooking the marshes and views out to Brightlingsea. Free to walk, and about as good a picnic spot as Essex offers.
Also within reach
- West Mersea oysters — Farmed here since Roman times, and sold on the beach at the oyster sheds.
- The Strood — The tidal causeway, and a Saxon-era crossing beneath it.
- Colchester — Castle, zoo and Roman walls, half an hour inland.
Book a break at West Mersea
Park Holidays run caravan and lodge breaks at West Mersea through the season, and short midweek breaks are usually the cheapest way in. Availability and prices vary by date, so it is worth checking what is left before you plan around a particular week.
Click here to check prices and availability at West Mersea
Attraction opening times, admission prices and park facilities change. Check before you travel. This page was written in August 2026.
Disclosure: the Park Holidays links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change the price you pay.
