Address: The Avenue, Warley, Brentwood CM13 3RZ, United Kingdom
Phone: +441277211250
Rating: 4.5
based on 157 reviews.
Parking
Pros:
"Parking price is ridiculous however they have redone the car park so plenty of parking and no falling in massive pot holes!"
"We arrived at 11.30 and parking was good although I did notice around 12/12.30 it starting to get quite busy."
"Great stop on long journeys reasonable parking, beautiful scenery and great picnic area and plenty of toilets!"
"The car park has new tarmac so more car spaces are available."
"For those who don't have young children with you, parking in the North second car park could be a good idea. It will be away from the Gruffalo walk and is more peaceful."
"Plenty of parking available, we paid just over £3 for 2 hours. Toilets on site as well as a cafe and lots of picnic areas."
"The pathways are well maintained and many are accessible by wheelchair."
Cons:
"The price to park was disgustingly high for a council run country park and they even had cameras so they can fine you if you have trouble paying and your time there exceeds 15 minutes!"
"Mobile Network is very poor and hence, purchasing parking ticket through mobile app might be bit tricky!"
"On arrival parking was expensive and the machines were infuriating, as they just didn't accept cards."
"Parking is a total rip off. Such a shame as it used to be free!"
"Parking was atrocious. Only 1 machine for the whole car park and had to queue 30 minutes to buy a parking ticket."
"Feels like you're miles from nowhere, beautiful trees. Some of the carparks have been neglected due to massive potholes in some of them and at £2,20 up to an hour a bit steep."
"Great place but extortionate charges for parking make it too expensive to walk the dog there regularly."
Cafe and Food
Pros:
"The cafe was ok. As comfortable as cafes get and the food is pretty simple but nice."
"Cafe great for drinks and snacks after your walk and the shop is sooooooo enticingly!!!"
"There is a coffee shop there inside the visitors centre with toilets and disabled toilets in a separate building around the back."
"Great place for adults and kids with clean toilets and well priced & good selection of food in the cafe."
"You can celebrate with food in the basic but friendly and well maintained cafe."
"Good toilet facilities. The cafe is very friendly and helpful although a little more food options might be nice."
"The South carpark cafe is dog friendly and seems to be cheaper."
Cons:
"Excellent park, expensive to park and was disappointed when a large coffee only filled a third of the container."
"Lovely place, but like most of them council parks, they rip you off on the price of drinks and food."
"The food in the cafe is of poor quality and there are no bins for your own rubbish if you bring a picnic."
"Coffee is awful however and toilets also leave a lot to be desired."
"Nothing much there. Very crowded because of BBQs. Very expensive if you want to do BBQ about £15 per family and 5-10 pounds if you don't (just visit)."
"Dishonest deceptive website: on the website it says 'bbqs allowed', doesn't mention the £2 per person charge, or the £15 per car charge on Sundays."
"However the increasing cost of parking is preventing me going to any parks anymore."
Facilities and Maintenance
Pros:
"Great stop on long journeys reasonable parking, beautiful scenery and great picnic area and plenty of toilets!"
"Lovely scenery, can't fault it really, also very tidy, no litter at all when we went."
"Thorndon Country Park is full of characters including colourful Woodlands with tall canopies of trees, birdlife, open parkland, fishing, famous Gruffalo Trail, the deer 🦌 Park, compacted walking Trail, Heritage Trail, fenced picnic areas, lots of picnic tables, café, visitor centre & gift shop toilets 🚻 including baby changing areas & disabled ♿ 🚽 Toilets, Fishing Lake with wildfowl, all terrain bike hire, mountain bike trail, accessible bike hire, guided cycling group, horse riding, orienteering course, Pay & Display Car Parks and much much more!"
"Thorndon Country Park is divided into two major sides - Thorndon North & Thorndon South - based in the facilities and car parks making it easier for all visitors to explore the park in an enjoyable way!"
"There is a visit centre with a shop, advise, café for hot sandwiches etc and very well maintained toilets."
"The pathways are well maintained and many are accessible by wheelchair."
"Many of the walks are wheelchair and pram accessible."
Cons:
"A very lovely place with a great variety of wildlife the one thing that has let our visit down is the state of the ladies toilets they are disgusting."
"Though toilets left a lot to be desired, decided to cross my legs until I got home."
"Negative - dog owners are dogs too, expect dog poo everywhere and ignoring rules ie not on leash."
"Generally this is a great place, but they do seem to leave thing unmaintained at times. Most of the orienteering post for example are the n a poor state of repair."
"Also, shame about the amount of litter on the approaching roads."
"The only real downside for me is that it's gotten much busier since covid."
"Not wheelchair friendly. This should be made clear on their website."
Activities and Attractions
Pros:
"Great place to take the little ones to get closer to nature."
"What a fantastic country park and a must to visit with any child who likes the gruffalo story."
"Thorndon Country park has been a godsend during lockdown. We can enjoy the countryside, the trees, the squelchy mud and the freedom and pleasure that it brings."
"One of the most 'children friendly' parks from the whole London area, that features The Gruffalo story and its characters."
"Fantastic place! Beautiful big forest, pleasant walks, exciting Gruffalo trail and lovely character figures to find."
"Finding the Gruffalo statues is a great way to keep the kids focused on the walk around the forest!"
"The Gruffalo trail was brilliant and the kids really enjoyed exploring and looking for the various characters in the book."
Cons:
"It would benefit from more play structures for children as they do get bored quite quickly."
"The big downside is the amount of dogs. I felt like I could not be at rest and let my child really have a good run around because there was so many dogs not on leads."
"The trail is quite short but did keep the children interested for the short walk around."
"Stick man trail is much better! I would advise going there instead."
"The South pavilion has not been open when we have been there for some time, which is disappointing."
"Went for the gruffalo trail which is a great day out for saying it only costs the parking fee and 50p for a map."
"On wet days wear wellie boots if possible as can be muddy in parts."