Colchester Zoo claims to have some of the best cat and primate collections in Europe. Colchester Zoo is supported by a charitable organisation called Action for the Wild. The charity is dedicated to assisting conservation projects at both local and international levels through the provision of both financial and technical assistance. The exhibits are presented in a number of themed zones, which include Kingdom of the Wild and Edge of Africa, Lakelands Zone, Kidz Zone, Beginning Zone, Valley Zone, Heights Zone and Aquatic Zone.

Tilbury Fort is on the north bank of the River Thames and was built to defend London from attack from the sea, particularly during the Spanish Armada and the Anglo-Dutch Wars. The first permanent fort at Tilbury was a D-shaped blockhouse built in 1539 by Henry VIII and designed to cross-fire for palisading and a boom of ships' masts, chains and cables was stretched across the Thames to Gravesend anchored to lighters.The fort was held for Parliament during the English Civil War and despite suffering from neglect was never attacked by the Royalists.

The Royal Horticultural Society's garden is at Hyde Hall. It is one of four public gardens run by the Society. Hyde Hall was founded by Dr Dick and Mrs Helen Robinson in 1955, formerly a working farm on a hilltop surrounded by arable land. The site was cleared and 60 trees purchased from Wickford market a few miles away. These trees now form the Woodland Garden. In the 1960's shelter belts of Lawson and Leyland cypress hedges were planted. During this decade the farmland to the west of the Hyde Hall hilltop was incorporated into the garden.

Extending for a mile and a third (2,158m) into the Thames Estuary, Southend Pier is the longest pleasure pier in the world. In the early 19th century, when it was thought that spending time at the seaside was good for one's health, many Londoners would visit Southend, but due to the large mudflats the sea wasn't deep enough for boats to dock. Authorisation was granted for the building of a pier to allow boats to reach Southend at all tides and in 1829 the Lord Major of London laid the first foundation. By June 1830 a 600ft (162m) wooden pier was open, which was subsequently extended and ultimately rebuilt in iron.