Braintree Town FC

Braintree Town Football Club plays at Cressing Road, and if you're staying at one of the nearby caravan parks - Stocks Farm Camping is just 2.5 miles away - it's a decent shout for a Saturday afternoon out. The ground itself is a proper small-town football setup: ground level with the pitch, feels genuinely connected to the community rather than grand or corporate.

You'll get the most out of this if you're either a football fan wanting to watch National League football on the cheap, or families looking for something low-key and unpretentious. The atmosphere is friendly, the crowds are manageable so you can actually see what's happening, and there's none of the aggro you sometimes get at bigger clubs. Kids won't be bored if they're into football at all - it's real people playing a real game, not a corporate spectacle.

Admission is modest and parking near the ground is straightforward. Check their website for fixture dates before you plan around it - obviously it's seasonal, so summer camping trips might miss the action. If the weather turns, you'll want to know what cover's available. A match day gives you a couple of hours' entertainment, which slots nicely into a week based at Gosfield Lake Resort or Golden Grove just a few miles south. The town of Braintree itself has shops and cafes if you need lunch before or after.