Essex family holidays at Layer Marney Tower

Layer Marney Tower

Escape to a simpler life with Sheila and Nick

Discover Layer Marney Tower in Essex, the tallest Tudor gatehouse in England with 500 years of history, privately owned by Nick and Sheila. You will be introduced to the grazing animals during feeding time each morning – meet at the Tower’s courtyard at 8am. Your cosy canvas hideaways are nestled in birch, ash and alder trees that you’ll share with pheasants, woodpeckers, muntjac deer and owls. All in all, this country estate is the ideal spot for a family holiday in Essex that allows you to unwind and enjoy the slower pace of life in the Essex countryside.

Surprising Essex

Layer Marney Tower is well placed for you to explore some little-known gems of the Essex coastline, one of the longest of any county in England. If you like bird watching, Abberton Reservoir is just a ten-minute drive away. Blackwater Estuary National Nature Reserve for some wildlife watching. Colchester, the first city founded in England, is well worth a visit, both for its history and for its zoo, recently voted one of the best in the country. Oyster lovers will already know all about Mersea Island. Constable Country is a short drive away at Dedham Vale, where you can see where the Haywain was painted, one of the most famous paintings in the National Gallery.

What to do at Layer Marney Tower

During your holiday in this stunning Essex farm, you will have free access to the Tower when it is open, where you can learn about the ups and downs in its history, join in the fun and get a stunning view all the way to the sea from the top. For the adventurous, fly your kites, organise your own cricket or football in the big fields or climb up the farm’s spider web frame, the choice is yours! Some tents come with a hot tub (bookable extra), a truly indulgent way to get back to nature. When the sun sets, grab some marshmallows from the honesty shop and gather around the campfire. You may be able to book in for a pizza night (date and availability dependent) where you can meet Nick and Sheila the owners, create your own pizza toppings and socialise with fellow guests. After a long day of exploration, you can collapse into your comfy bed for a good night’s sleep at one of the best places for a family holiday in Essex.

What can you expect?

Hot tub
Honesty shop
Pizza oven
Private shower
Outdoor playground
Cannot accept dogs

What animals will you find on this farm?

Ms Dornelas

27/09/2024

We had a wonderful time, layer Marney is beautiful, the tent was comfortable and had everything we wanted, it was great to collect the eggs and feed the animals and the sunset opposite the tents was amazing.

09/08/2024

Fun in nature, a real break from city life

Mrs Knowles

15/07/2024

Really peaceful

8.8

Mrs Williams

14/06/2024

A fantastic place for a relaxing family break

31/05/2024

This is our second time at Layer Marney and it was just as good as last time. Featherdown holidays really are the best family time.

fam. Fry

17/05/2024

Back to nature within the most beautifully historic location.

Mrs Macdonald

17/05/2024

Oh my goodness, where do I start? The whole experience was absolutely fabulous. We all loved every moment of our stay.

12/04/2024

Lovely site - very luxurious with private shower huts and for half of the tents, the option of a gorgeous hot tub. Also glad to have (limited) electric lights - preferable to oil lamps as we have had previously

Ms Vita

05/04/2024

What a great experience! Beautiful setting, happy kids, close to so many places to explore. Thank you!

Mr Celis

05/04/2024

Peaceful

8.8

Middleton

29/03/2024

We had a wonderful time at Layer Marney Tower, it was very relaxing and a great location for exploring Colchester and Mersea Island. Friendly hosts and the tower itself has an interesting history and is very picturesque.

27/10/2023

This was our daughter’s first glamping experience and it was amazing. She loved having the responsibility of tending to the fires, gathering firewood and keeping the camp tidy. The hot tub is a must, as it’s a lovely treat, even in the rain and the outside shower is surprisingly refreshing. We also enjoyed feeding the farm animals every morning with our excellent host Nick and his friendly dogs.

Mr Coulson

28/08/2023

Chilled and peaceful.

8.8

ms langdon

21/08/2023

We definitely made some core memories at Later Marney!

Mrs Jackson

18/08/2023

a true adventure for the family with all the confort

Mrs cardona munoz

18/08/2023

The perfect weekend escape for all the family, the kids enjoyed it a lot everything was perfect, our favourite thing was the showerthank you

Mrs Bitmead

18/08/2023

Great fun with the family, kids loved running around in the woods and getting the fires going. Really enjoyed the location, felt like we were able to really relax and slow down, the free entry to the tower was a great bonus and only 10 mins from Colchester zoo.

mevrouw Van Gassen

14/08/2023

Wij hadden een heel fijne vakantie tussen de dieren. We werden vriendelijk onthaald en Nick gaf ons met plezier informatie over de dieren en de tower. We konden verschillende culturele uitstapjes doen en de kinderen zaten uren in de hot tub.

Ms Argyle

07/08/2023

Fantastic! So many lovely memories: Watching deer graze opposite the tent as the sun went down; the BBQ and cowboy stew meals which were so thoughtfully put together and delivered (and delicious); exploring the beautiful Layer Marney Tower and grounds, to name just a few. Then on top of that the immense fun we all had in the hot tub. Can’t wait to go back.

Mr Ure

04/08/2023

Great experience

8.8

fam Dickerson

14/07/2023

The most relaxing holiday, despite the fact I was on my own with 5 children.

Mrs Cooper

23/06/2023

Relaxing, chilled, fun, calm, stress free, able to switch off. Lazy days and evenings. Loved the fire pit, hot tub and outdoor stove

Mrs Mackay

09/06/2023

I’m not the camping type, but this stay changed my mind. The facilities were amazing, with everything you need. We enjoyed building fires and cooking outside. My son loved feeding the animals on the farm. A fantastic weekend of making incredible memories.

Mr Daniels

02/06/2023

A great bonding experience - far , far away from electronic devices!

8.8

Mrs Mpambawashe

19/05/2023

A wonderful off grid experience. Our very first time camping and it was so wonderful to wake up to the sound of birds and go to sleep to the sound of nature. The location was perfect and the amenities were spot on. We enjoyed the whole experience. We became professionals at starting the fires for the hot tub, s’mores and warming the place as well as the cooker. The hot shower is a great addition love the bucket idea so cool. Everything you need is there so there wasn’t much to pack and the honesty shop on site was great for the few things we forgot to get. We also got to pay before we left which was excellent. You’re left to be free no one checking in which is a great escape.

Mr Butragueno

28/04/2023

Fabulous

Miss Shoria

07/04/2023

Brilliant to go off grid at such a lovely location

Mrs Hopkins

31/03/2023

Very organised and simple site. Super easy to get to from London!

8.8

Mr. Hambrook

07/10/2022

Really lovely family getaway. Kids loved the Cupboard bed and Hot Tub.

8.8

mrs Brannon

30/08/2022

Great place to unwind and enjoy history with layer tower onsite, along with the beautiful surroundings & spending family time & all nature has to offer!.

miss march

30/08/2022

Brilliant. Was a lovely break away.

Mevrouw Verhagen

12/08/2022

Later Marney Tower is een fantastische vakantiebestemming! De eigenaren zijn zeer vriendelijk. Er zijn 6 tenten, sommigen hebben ook een hot tub. De tenten liggen heerlijk in de schaduw of aan de rand van het bos. De ontbijtbox en fruitbox zijn heerlijk! Buiten koken is heel leuk :-) De Layer Marney Tower heeft heel veel geschiedenis en is heel leuk om te bezoeken. De kerk is nog in gebruik. Elke ochtend worden alle dieren gevoerd waar de kinderen aan mee kunnen doen. In de omgeving zijn andere leuke steden/dorpjes om te bezoeken allemaal binnen een uur rijden (behalve Cambridge). Sowieso is door het Engelse platteland rijden een leuke belevenis.

Mevrouw Elbertsen

08/08/2022

Rust, ruimte, buiten... Het was erg warm in de week van ons verblijf. We waren dan ook erg blij met onze tent en de schaduwrijke omgeving! Ook een gezellige pizza-avond en cultuur opsnuiven bij Layer Marney Tower. Genoten!

ms noble

08/07/2022

Am absolutely idyllic weekend. Ticked all the boxes for the children and the adults too. The hot tub, table tennis, bbqs, comfy beds, use of shared fridges and power points, the children loved the honesty shop too.

Mrs O’grady

24/06/2022

The most wholesome of family weekends

Mrs Smith

27/05/2022

Back to basics excellent together time