Top 5 things to do near Orchards and on park
It was a Haven holiday with his own family that made Orchards’ General Manager, Grant Ewens, want to work with holidaymakers.
Close to Clacton-on-Sea in Essex and with a range of facilities and activities on park, we asked Grant, along with Guest and Owners Team Manager, Gemma Mace-Clark, and Head of Experience, Wendy Rayner, for the five best things to do on your next holiday at Orchards.
1. Enjoy the outdoor pool
Our indoor pool is open all season, but we also have a great outdoor pool, open late-May to August, weather permitting. It has a significant sunbathing area, it's right next to the complex, next to the bars and restaurants and entertainment generally, and it's got an amazing vibe.
2. Take in the Live Lounge entertainment
Our Live Lounge entertainment venue with its different acts every night, really rates highly with guests. The Live Lounge is great, and it’s quite large, with a 600 occupancy, so there’s plenty of room for everyone.
It's also close to our arcade which has a mix of the newer games, including the ticket machines that kids love, but also with a retro feel and a sense of nostalgia, for adults, of when they were kids back in the day.
3. Enjoy the great outdoors
The park is a huge park with lots of green space, it's in a bay, surrounded by water. It's just a fresh, open environment where you can go and walk around the sea wall, take the dog for a walk, enjoy some quite pretty locations. You can stroll out and take in views over Brightlingsea Harbour which is the other side of the water to us. And that sea wall walk at sunset it is absolutely stunning.
4. Visit Clacton Pier
Clacton Pier caters for everyone and it's iconic. It's got everything together in one area. So you've got all the fairground rides, a soft play for younger children, food outlets, there's bowling, there's everything there. And it's literally 10-15 minutes down the road in a car. It's actually got the address 1 North Sea which is quite iconic! I don't believe anyone comes on holiday to the park without going to Clacton Pier.
The beachfront that Clacton Pier sits on is a nice traditional golden sandy beach too, or you can drive to Frinton-on-Sea, which is quieter with more of a village feel, and has a lovely beach.
5. Stop off at the local attractions
Colchester Zoo is well worth a visit - it's massive, and it's a fantastic day out for families, about half an hour drive away.
There’s also Curve Water Sports which is less than a five-minute drive away, which has an inflatable water obstacle course. It's an absolute tonne of fun, a lot of our holidaymakers go to it, and it's actually a very well-run facility that’s open April to October.
Why do you love Orchards?
Gemma: As you drive down the hill onto the park it's like you're in a different place, and you can't put into words how it feels. It's just a feeling that you get down here and you're in like a little bubble.
Grant: For me, it's like no other job. I love doing this because we do a good thing, we make families and people happy and create memories that last a lifetime.
Wendy: One of the things I love is as you arrive onto our park, you come down Point Clear Road, and you get a view of the creek and on a gorgeous summer's day and that sun is shining it puts a smile on your face. Then you come onto the park and you see an excited child running, dressed for swimming with a big smile on their face, and that’s what it’s all about.
Start planning your Great British break
Related Posts
What launched in 2023 across our parks | Haven
Three reasons why Orchards is the pitch-perfect place to buy a caravan
Top 5 things to do near Kent Coast and on park
Important information
Pre-owned holiday homes from £14,995 – UPDATED 28 May 2025
*Holiday home price is based on a pre-owned holiday home and includes siting,connections and standard accessories.
Price excludes 2025 site fees, running costs and add-ons requested at point of sale. Subject to status and availability.
Price is available at Blue Dolphin, Church Farm, Cleethorpes Beach, Combe Haven, Craig Tara, Doniford Bay, Far Grange, Golden Sands, Hafan Y Mor, Haggerston Castle, Littlesea, Quay West, Presthaven, Primrose Valley, Quay West, Reighton Sands, The Orchards, Thornwick Bay, Wild Duck and Weymouth Bay. Price can be withdrawn at any time.
Images are shown for representational purposes. Access to holiday home is subject to park opening times.
Park cannot be used as a permanent residence. Haven Leisure Ltd is registered in England (No. 01968698) and is a FCA appointed representative of Bourne Leisure Limited (t/a Haven). Bourne Leisure Ltd is registered in England (No. 04011660) and is authorised and regulated by the FCA (Financial Services Register No. 312847) as a credit broker and insurance distributor. Registered office: One Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4YL.
Move your caravan to a Haven park
*This offer is available for holiday homeowners not located at a Haven park and that want to relocate their holiday home from their current holiday park to the following Haven parks: Church Farm, Craig Tara, Far Grange, Haggerston Castle, Orchards, Cleethorpes Beach, Golden Sands, Rockley Park or Skegness. Offer is subject to availability of pitches and the satisfactory completion of our standard onboarding checks. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, discount or promotion.
Images are shown for representational purposes. Parks cannot be used as a permanent residence. Haven Leisure Ltd (t/a Haven) is registered in England (No. 01968698) and is a FCA appointed representative of Bourne Leisure Limited. Bourne Leisure Ltd is registered in England (No. 04011660) and is authorised and regulated by the FCA (Financial Services Register No. 312847) as a credit broker and insurance distributor. Registered office: One Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4YL.
Brand new holiday homes from £268 per month - UPDATED 18 July 2025
Offer is applicable to new customer purchases made through Haven from 14th July 2025, completing by 31 December 2025.
Representative finance example. Holiday home cash price £29,995, less deposit of £8,998.50, gives a loan amount of £20,996.50. 120 monthly payments of £268.34. Total charge for credit £11,191.13. Total amount payable £41,186.13 which includes the deposit amount. The interest rate is 5.33% fixed / 9.6% APR (representative).
Offer available at the following parks: Blue Dolphin, Yorkshire Cleethorpes Beach, Lincolnshire Combe Haven, Sussex Church Farm, Sussex Craig Tara, Scotland Doniford Bay, Somerset Haggerston Castle, Northumberland Hafan y Mor, North Wales Orchards, Essex Presthaven, North Wales Primrose Valley, Yorkshire, Reighton Sands, Yorkshire Thornwick Bay, Yorkshire Weymouth Bay, Dorset Golden Sands, Lincolnshire, Littlesea, Dorset, Quay West, South Wales, Skegness, Lincolnshire and Wild Duck, Norfolk.
Price excludes 2025 site fee, running costs and add-ons requested at point of sale. Subject to status & availability. Bourne Leisure Limited, Company registration no 040 660, whose registered office address is 1 Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP2 4YL. Bourne Leisure is a credit broker and not a lender.
New holiday homes from £29,995 – UPDATED 28 May 2025
*Holiday home price is based on a new 2-bedroom Willerby Ellerton holiday home and includes siting, connections and standard accessories.
Price excludes 2025 site fees, running costs and add-ons requested at point of sale. Subject to status and availability.
Price is available at Blue Dolphin, Church Farm, Cleethorpes Beach, Combe Haven, Craig Tara, Doniford Bay, Far Grange, Golden Sands, Hafan Y Mor, Haggerston Castle, Hopton, Littlesea, Quay West, Presthaven, Primrose Valley, Quay West, Reighton Sands, The Orchards, Thornwick Bay, Wild Duck and Weymouth Bay. Price can be withdrawn at any time.
Images are shown for representational purposes. Access to holiday home is subject to park opening times.
Park cannot be used as a permanent residence. Haven Leisure Ltd is registered in England (No. 01968698) and is a FCA appointed representative of Bourne Leisure Limited (t/a Haven). Bourne Leisure Ltd is registered in England (No. 04011660) and is authorised and regulated by the FCA (Financial Services Register No. 312847) as a credit broker and insurance distributor. Registered office: One Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4YL.
Let2offset - make no site fee payments until 2032
Let2offset is a contractual lettings product that offers eligible owners a guaranteed letting income at a preferential rate (calculated each year) in exchange for a stipulated number of letting breaks. It also allows eligible owners to pay their site fees and receive their letting income in 12 equal monthly instalments; the monthly site fee amount charged by Haven will be after deduction of the letting income.
‘Make no site fee payments until 2032 when using Let2offset’ is available at 33 Haven parks excluding Burnham, Cardigan View, Far Grange, Garreg Wen, Lydstep Beach, Riviere Sands and Seaview. The letting income received will vary by make, model and location. The monthly site fee payment does not include running costs e.g. utilities, rates & insurance.
“Make no site fee payments until 2032 when using Let2offset” is applicable to new and existing customer purchases of new Victory Ashberry 3 Bed or equivalent grade holiday home purchases made through Haven where customers have also signed up to Haven’s Let2offset contract. It is not applicable to private sales and cannot be used in conjunction with our free Site Fee promotion. An example of how “Make no site fee payments until 2032 when using Let2offset” operates under Let2offset is the purchase of a Victory Ashberry 3 Bed holiday home at Seton Sands with a monthly site fee of £667.08 (includes purchasing discount of £17.08) and monthly letting income of £673.17. The monthly difference equates to £23.17, which will be credited to the owner's account. Both letting income and site fees are subject to yearly pricing reviews and inflation. The monthly site fee costs and letting income shown in the example are based on 2025 figures. Modelled assumptions on expected annual site fee and letting income charges over the 7-year lettable life of the Victory Ashberry 3 Bed indicate that under Let2offset it is anticipated that these customers will continue to receive a monthly credit during this period, however, this is not guaranteed. The modelled assumptions are based on the historical performance of Haven over the past 5 years of trading as of 2024. Images are shown for representational purposes. Access to holiday home is subject to park opening times. Park cannot be used as a permanent residence. Haven Leisure Ltd is registered in England (No. 01968698) and is a FCA appointed representative of Bourne Leisure Limited (t/a Haven). Bourne Leisure Ltd is registered in England (No. 04011660) and is authorised and regulated by the FCA (Financial Services Register No. 312847) as a credit broker and insurance distributor. Registered office: One Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4YL.