Situated in the rolling countryside of the Roach Valley at the south of the District, the 200 acre beautiful wildlife park continues to mature, providing unique recreational facilities for residents and visitors to the area.  The woodland, lake, open grassland and network of connecting paths and bridleways also provide habitat for a huge range of animals and plants.

The park lies in some of the most beautiful countryside in South Essex and makes the most of an exceptional rolling setting to create a mix of open grassland and woodland a habitat for many plant and animal species. Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, visited the newly created park in 2003 to celebrate the completion of the first stage in this major project.

The first phase of creating the park has been completed, with the planting of 28,000 trees. These trees are all native and include the hornbeam, oak and ash. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, an avenue of 200 oak trees was planted in the park.

The park is taking shape out of a vision of turning an area of farmland into a public open space where everyone can enjoy all that the countryside has to offer. There are numerous public rights of way for walkers, cyclists and horse riders to enjoy. Three areas of open grassland have been established with various types of grasses including Cocksfoot, Timothy and Yorkshire Fog. These will be mown to create species-rich meadows.

In 2008 the Council, acquired further land to the east and west of the existing Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park along the Roach Valley.

With this former agricultural land the Authority has began its planned second phase of the Country Parks development.

Seven new woodlands of over 35 acres, containing a total of 32,000 trees were planted in the winter of 2008/09.

The trees are all native broad-leafed species that are suitable for the location, and include English Oak, Hornbeam and Ash.

Blue Green Algae at the Lake in Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park

Algal blooms are natural occurrences that generally occur during periods of warm, sunny, calm weather. Such algal blooms can sometimes be harmful.

Following the discovery of what appeared to be algae and algae scum on the lake at Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park, precautionary notices were placed around the lake warning visitors of the possible dangers of Blue Green Algae, whilst arrangements were made for water and scum samples to be taken from the lake and tested by the Environment agency.

The results of these samples have confirmed that potentially toxic blue green algae is present in the lake  and that it may cause illness in humans and animals, including pets.

As such visitors to the lake should:

• Keep away from the water's edge.
• Keep pets away from the water's edge.
• Do not touch scum, either in the water or on the banks.

More information regarding Algal Blooms can be found in the Environment Agency Leaflet found in related links below

 
Further sampling of the lake will take place regularly until the algae is cleared.

 

Acute Oak Decline

Some of the oak trees at Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park are suffering from a disease known as Acute Oak Decline.  For more information about Acute Oak Decline, please see the related link at the bottom of this page.

Friends of Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park

In March 2010, a ‘Friends of Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park’ group was formed. Friends groups allow the local community to have a say in how their local park is managed. As they are the users of these facilities, they are best placed to say what is needed in the park. In addition to this, they often organise small events in the park such as nature or bird watching walks.

If you would like to know more about joining the Friends of Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park, please contact the group Chairman, Graham Hutchinson on 07850 584115 or email graham@chkpkmtrs.demon.co.uk - You can also 'Like' Friends of Cherry Orchard on Facebook - Follow the link in related links below.

Species to see in the Park

Birds: Skylark, Grey Partridge and Fieldfare.

Trees: Hornbeam, Oak and Ash.

Amphibians and reptiles: Common Frog, and Great Crested Newt.

Mammals: Pipistrelle Bat.

Grasses: Cock's-foot, Timothy and Yorkshire Fog.

Agricultural wild flowers: Knapweed, Scarlet Pimpernel and Mayweed.

How to get there

Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park can be reached via the public footpath & bridlepath network from:

• Cherry Orchard Way, Rochford
• Gusted Hall Lane, Hawkwell
• Blatches Chase, Eastwood (footpath only)
• Flemings Farm Road, Eastwood
• Eastwood Rise, Eastwood (footpath only)

By Car

A 30 space car park is situated at the Eastern entrance to the country park off of Cherry Orchard Way (B1013). This car park is open 24hrs a day, 365 days a year and has a 2m height restriction barrier.

Alternative parking can be found at:

Grove Road Playing Fields, Grove Road, Rayleigh

The car park is open 24hrs a day, 365 days a year.

Edwards Hall Park, Bosworth Road, Eastwood

The car park is open during park opening hours. Check with Southend Borough Council for more information.

Gusted Hall Lane, Hawkwell

There is a small privately owned car park at the end of the lane with limited parking. No parking is allowed on any part of Blatches Chase or within the park itself.

By Bus

Bus numbers 9, 15, 15c and 16 stop at Western Approaches Bus number 8 goes past Gusted Hall Lane, Hawkwell.

Please note there are no toilet or baby change facilities at the park.

Fishing at Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park Lake

Rochford District Council has received many queries recently regarding fishing in the lake at Cherry Orchard Jubilee County Park.

There are no byelaws preventing fishing at this park and therefore casual fishing is permitted. However, all anglers must abide by the national and regional byelaws regarding fishing which cover issues such as the need to hold a current Fishing Licence and the type of equipment that can be used. These byelaws are enforced by the Environment Agency who have visited and will continue to visit this lake to enforce these byelaws. For More information on fishing and related byelaws please visit the Related Link section below.

However, we do ask that all park users do not enter (or allow their dogs to enter) the fenced off end of the lake. This is for the protection of the wildlife that inhabits the lake.

We would also ask that all park users ensure that they take their litter home with them or use the various litter bins around the park. Not only is litter unsightly, it can be dangerous to both the wildlife and other park users.

Finally, the lifebuoys are there for use in an emergency. Recently we have had to replace several of these lifebuoys as they have either gone missing or been damaged to such an extent that they were not fit for purpose.

The park and the lake are there for all of the community to enjoy, please take care of it and be considerate to other park users.