A HOLIDAY and leisure park situated along the River Stour is scheduled to open its doors to kayakers, paddleboarders and glampers next year.

Constable Park, based between Brantham and East Bergholt, will be a retreat for outdoor enthusiasts. 

It is being built by Ian and Sarah Williams who run Anglia Adventures, and they hope to have the park finished by next May. 

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Stay - guests will be able to stay in the park's pods

Anglia Adventures is an activity provider for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.

Once complete, there will be a luxury lodge for up to four people, three holiday pods, shower blocks, a toilet block and seven glamping tents.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Park - one of the park's buildings for guests from the outside 

The camping pods are designed for between two and four guests at a time, and include a table, chairs, a sleeping area and a toilet.

There will also be a limited number of camping pitches at the site as well as a parking area.

On the other side of the site will be a cafe, kayak and paddleboard hire - which day visitors can use too.

The cafe will be named The Kitchen Garden after one of John Constable's famous paintings.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Tasty - the inside of the cafe 

The site is within the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and partly within Cattawade Marshes.

It sits immediately across the river from the RSPB Stour Estuary Nature Reserve.

Mr Williams said: “We hope the site will be a weekend escape for Londoners or a holiday break for people from Holland.


“The building of the park is going very well. The project started about five years ago when I was looking for a bit of land around the river. 

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Views - the site is in Constable country and Dedham Vale's AONB 


“This piece came up and it was bigger than intended so we decided to make it into a holiday and leisure park.”

Mr Williams said the park will employ about eight members of staff within the next few years.

The design and access statement said the site will provide tourist accommodation without adding to traffic congestion.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Building - the site will be completed next May 

It added: "It is anticipated that the benefits brought by the awareness-raising, educational and training value of the proposal together with its environmental mitigation and enhancement strategy, and the unique range of accessible and inclusive activities offered, will have, overall, a genuinely positive impact on this part of the Dedham Vale AONB."

Search Constable Park on Facebook for more details.