Adventure awaits at Essex Outdoors Mersea

A huge choice of adventurous outdoor activities for schools, groups, children and families.

Our largest capacity residential outdoor centre is situated on the charming Island of Mersea – known locally as ‘The Tropical’ – on the edge of the river Blackwater, just south of Colchester.

With over 60 acres of beautiful grounds and commanding far-reaching views across the estuary, we offer many thrilling outdoor adventures.

Our 20+ activities from archery and bushcraft through to team challenge and zipwire, ensure there is always something new and exciting to experience. Couple this with our comprehensive choice of catered accommodation – from camping in tents or pods, to our purpose built log cabins and residential centre – and we’ll create the perfect adventure for you.

Mersea’s coastal location is quite special – the surrounding marshes and beaches the ideal environment for shore-based studies and with access by boat to local creeks and areas of special scientific interest.

At a glance

Location

Mersea Island, CO5 8SX, Coastal / Rural

Travel times

London 1.5 hour – Norwich 1.5 hours
Nearest station – Colchester
Nearest airport – Stansted

Size and capacity

520 residential – 400 activity

Accommodation

Residential centre, log cabins, camping pods and tents

Facilities

Dining hall, laundry room, big screen

Activities

Over 20 separate activities, see full list below.

Accommodation

At Mersea you can stay in heated cabins, our residential centre or enjoy an authentic summer camp experience in tents! We have 220 beds in indoor accommodation, with tents available for up to 300.

Indoor accommodation

Residential centre

Ingram Lodge, our purpose-built residential centre can accommodate up to 48 people at a time with 5 bunk rooms sleeping 8 in each and 2 en suite staff bedrooms accommodating 4 in each. The centre is totally self-contained and has its own fully equipped, modern self-catering facilities as well as wheelchair-accessible toilets and showers.

There is a flexible communal living space to use for teaching, eating or relaxing, which includes all of the IT infrastructure you would expect of any modern classroom: digital projector and integrated sound and vision, plus Wi-Fi internet access.

Blackwater cabins

Our popular Blackwater Village can accommodate 54 people in 9 cabins with three sets of bunk beds in each, all with disabled access. Laid out in a quadrangle, they are usually booked out as one unit. These cosy cabins benefit from heating for those chilly nights!

Colne camping pods

Our modern and comfortable Colne cabins are the latest addition to our accommodation and comprise of 11 camping pods with a total of 64-bed spaces; 7 cabins with 8 beds and 4 cabins with 2 beds.

Large log cabins

Our 5 large log cabins can sleep up to 10 people in each. Two cabins sleep 8 in bunks with 2 single beds. The other three cabins sleep 8 in bunks on one side, with 2 single beds on the other, with separate entrances. These cabins can be booked out individually.

These cabins are not en-suite, however, excellent toilet and shower facilities are available at the centre of the site, with dedicated wheelchair-accessible facilities.

Facilities and catering

Mersea has a comprehensive range of facilities including modern toilet and shower blocks with dedicated amenities for disabled users and families, a self-contained training and conference suite for up to 40 people, dining rooms, a laundry room, a large well-equipped main hall and even a big screen cinema room!

Catering

From simple packed lunches and warming evening meals for our group bookings, through to delicious buffets or sit-down banquets for events, our dedicated catering team can provide high quality, affordable meals to suit any visit to us.

For group bookings, breakfast, lunch and dinner is served in the main dining room. We are also able to provide packed lunches and an evening barbeque in your village area, if booked prior to arrival.

We are happy to cater for many dietary requirements as specified by culture, religion and medical concerns. We regularly provide meals for a wide variety of needs including vegetarian, vegan, coeliac, diabetic or food allergies. We can also provide a carb count, if required.

The menu is designed to support the 5-a-day campaign and minimize added salt, sugar and fat where possible. We also look to provide a nut free environment for schools and request parent/guardians not to send their children with any products that contain nuts.

We expect parents/guardians to provide the school or group leader with all the information in relation to food allergies and intolerances prior to arrival. The leader will then fill out a meal plan and send it to the centre one week prior to arrival.

At each meal time, the group leaders/teachers will serve the food, allergy information will be clearly displayed for each dish, the servers will be fully briefed and a Chef will be readily available to answer any queries.

If there are any concerns, please feel free to contact the centre to speak to a Chef prior to arrival.