Essex is a county in southeast England, between London and the North Sea. The town of Colchester has Roman ruins and the Norman-era Colchester Castle, with a museum. Colchester Zoo is home to orang-utans and white rhinos. Southwest, 18th-century Hylands House in Chelmsford is set amid vast parklands. To the north is the medieval market town of Saffron Walden, home to Jacobean estate Audley End House and Gardens.

Essex offers a complete wallop for your senses – a cherished compendium of contrasts. From the glitzy high jinks of the Sugar Hut to the Zen-like calm of the Blackwater salt marshes. From the vibrant hum of Chelmsford, the UK’s newest city, to the historical majesty of ‘Britain’s First City’, Colchester. It’s hard to imagine so much diversity in one place.

It helps that it is so easy to get here – bordering London we are well served by rail and road, with two international airports and two globally connected ports. So there is no excuse not to come and wander along the world’s longest pleasure pier at Southend.