A market town with windmills, history, and paths that lead straight into peaceful farmland.
Thaxted is one of Essex’s best-preserved market towns — a place of crooked timber buildings, a soaring church tower, and a windmill on the edge of open countryside. It’s small, scenic, and surrounded by a network of footpaths and green lanes that make it ideal for village-to-village or circular walks.
The landscape here is gently rolling, with fields, woodlands, and quiet lanes connecting hamlets, farms, and old churches. Walking from Thaxted, you can explore the nearby villages of Great Sampford, Little Bardfield, and Wimbish, or simply follow the Essex Way, which passes just to the south.
It’s also a town rich in culture — home to composer Gustav Holst and centuries of tradition, including its famous Morris dancing and annual festivals.
Village inns, converted barns, and peaceful countryside cottages for walkers.
Walks that begin from or pass near Thaxted.
