The Munnings Art Museum

The Munnings Art Museum occupies Castle House, the Tudor and Georgian home where the painter Sir Alfred Munnings lived for around forty years. The rooms are hung with a changing selection from the museum's large collection of his work, including well-known pictures of horses and ponies and lesser-seen sketches taken from his studio. Families can wander the house at their own pace, look at how a picture was built up from first studies, and see the surrounding garden and tea room. The museum runs a programme of exhibitions, talks and drawing and painting workshops, and under-25s are admitted free, which makes it a gentle, indoor outing for older children and teenagers with an interest in art, horses or the Essex countryside. The grounds sit in the Dedham Vale, a pleasant setting for a walk after the visit.