The Furlongs

Shopping

The village store and post office is the place to go for forgotten essentials, while a large supermarket is located two miles away at Great Notley. Braintree town centre, four miles away, offers a variety of high-street and independent retailers, as well as a twice weekly market, while Chelmsford, eight miles away, has three shopping malls – Meadows, High Chelmer and Bond Street. Both towns boast a plethora of cafés, traditional pubs and family friendly restaurants.

Just 15 minutes’ drive from The Furlongs, Freeport Braintree is a popular destination for discount designer fashion, beauty and homewares, as well as family entertainment, with a multiplex cinema and bowling alley located opposite the outlet mall.

Leisure

The recreation ground on Boreham Road has a children’s play area, football pitches, a five-a-side pitch and a tennis court; next door to this, the village hall hosts a number of classes and clubs for youngsters and adults.

The Essex countryside lends itself to outdoor pursuits: Great Notley Country Park, less than three miles away, covers 100 acres and includes a cycling route, bridleway and walking trails. The park also has an adventure play zone, games area and football pitches. Sandylay and Moat Woods Nature Reserve is a short walk from these new homes in Great Leighs and the Phyllis Currie Nature Reserve is around a mile away.

Braintree Swimming & Fitness and Braintree Sport & Health Club are both around 10 minutes’ away by car and between them offer an abundance of facilities, including an athletics track, sports hall and courts, football pitches, gyms and swimming pools. Chelmsford City Racecourse, which hosts festivals, family events and live music in addition to horse racing, is less than a mile from the development.

Education

Several well-regarded schools can be found in the local area, including Great Leighs Primary, which is less than 10 minutes’ walk from the development, and Little Waltham CE Voluntary Aided Primary, three miles away. The village also has a pre-school – The Leighs Nursery Group – which caters for children aged from two to four years.

Notley High School and Braintree Sixth Form, Chelmer Valley High School, Chelmsford County High School for Girls and King Edward VI Grammar School (boys) are among those catering for older students and are within 15 minutes’ drive of The Furlongs.

Transport

Major roads easily accessible from the development include the A131 (for Braintree, Halstead, Sudbury and Chelmsford), the A120 (for Stansted Airport, Bishop’s Stortford, Colchester and Harwich), and the A12 (for Colchester, Ipswich and London). Braintree Freeport is the closest train station, at around 10 minutes’ drive away, with regular services to Chelmsford, Stratford and London Liverpool Street (journey time of around an hour). Local buses connect the village with surrounding areas.