The district of Braintree has colourful, bustling market towns and picturesque villages set in the beautiful rolling countryside of North Essex. The town of Braintree and neighbouring Bocking have a long and fascinating history emerging from the forests of the Bronze Age as important and flourishing market towns, located at the crossroad of Roman roads. There is plenty to see and do from Braintree town’s designer shopping village to the medieval barns of the Knights Templar, jousting knights at a Norman keep to steam railways, magnificent houses with stunning gardens and listed windmills.