Braintree Golf Club

The Essex countryside around Halstead gets a proper golfing anchor with Braintree Golf Club, a course that sits east of the town and offers the sort of unflashy, straightforward round that English club golf does best. You're looking at an 18-hole layout through decent parkland - nothing Vegas about it, just solid turf and reasonable greens that demand you stay focused. It's the kind of place where a decent handicap matters and weekend fourballs happen without fuss.

Golfers will obviously get the most from a visit here, though it's worth noting that you'll need club membership or a guest pass arrangement to play. Expect to spend a good four and a half hours on the course if you're moving at a sensible pace. Spring through autumn is when the course plays best, though the Essex climate keeps things playable most of the year.

If you're bunking down at one of the nearby parks - Stocks Farm Camping is just over four miles away and consistently rated brilliant - Braintree Golf Club works well as a morning or afternoon activity that slots neatly into a broader holiday. Woodchests Glamping and Golden Grove Caravan Park are within easy reach too if you want the creature comforts alongside your golf. It's not a spectacle course that'll have you Instagram-posting photos from the clubhouse, but that's rather the point. Sometimes the best golf courses are the ones where you just get your head down and play.