RSPB Bowers Marsh

The marshes here are proper serious about their birds. Bowers Marsh, run by the RSPB just outside Benfleet, is the kind of place where you'll stand motionless for twenty minutes watching a single reed warbler and feel like you've had an excellent morning. It's a wetland reserve spread across managed pools and grassland - the sort of habitat that attracts everything from winter wildfowl to breeding waders depending on the season.

This isn't a flashy visitor centre with a café. What you get are viewing areas and a handful of paths threading through the reserve where the real work is watching and listening. Binoculars aren't optional. Spring and autumn migrations are peak times if you're after variety; winter brings in bigger congregations of ducks and geese. Summer's quieter but the breeding birds make it worthwhile if you know what you're looking for.

Families with keen young naturalists will genuinely enjoy it. Less keen ones might manage an hour before restlessness sets in - it's not a place where you're constantly seeing dramatic stuff. Walkers and serious birdwatchers will find it absorbing for a couple of hours.

It sits well within a longer Essex wildlife trip. Couple it with Barleylands Campsite or Essex Glamping (both within a few miles) and you've got a solid base for exploring the wetlands and coastal marshes that make this corner of Essex more interesting than most people give it credit for. Check the RSPB website before visiting for access details and what's currently about.