T

here’s a lot more to Essex than souped-up cars and seaside towns.

Head to Burnham-on-Crouch, for example, and you’ll find a rather lovely little harbour where you can sit in the sun outside 17th century pub, The Star, stroll along to The Cabin Dairy Tea Rooms – an old fashioned white clapboard ice cream shop – or go for a meal at The Oyster Smack, a restaurant and pub with smart rooms.

Alternatively, if you fancy a waterfront stroll with plenty of photo-stops and a splash of ancient history, nip to Bradwell Waterside at the top of Dengie Peninsula. There’s a lovely walk along the sea wall to St Peter’s Chapel – which dates back a whopping 1,400 years.

Meanwhile, in Leigh-on-Sea (or specifically, Old Leigh) you can stroll the cobbled street that looks like something out of a BBC costume drama, stop for fish and chips at The Mayflower – or book yourself in for some of the south-east’s finest seafood, at The Boatyard restaurant, a few doors down.

There’s even a fishermen’s cooperative, where the guys sell the skate wings, scallops and Dover sole that they pulled out of the water just a few metres away. And we haven’t even got onto Colchester Castle or the Jacobean Audley End House yet.