Billericay - town in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England

Billericay is a town in Essex with a population of about 34,000 (2011). Many of its residents commute daily to London by train.

Get in

By car

Billericay is close to two primary routes: the A12 to the north and the A127 in the south. The A176 provides a road link to Basildon to the south of Billericay, as well as to the A127.

By train

National Express has a train leaving from London Liverpool St station every few minutes during peak hours and every 20 minutes outside peak. It is served by trains to Southend Victoria and Southminster.

There are also regular buses mostly run by First (dead link: January 2023).

The 100 goes every 20 minutes between Chelmsford and Lakeside. The 551 goes every half hour between Brentwood and Basildon. The 222 goes between Wickford and Billericay.

Get around

Billericay High Street is a few minutes walk south from the train station. There is a taxi rank outside of the station with regular services available.

See

• The Cater Museum. On the High Street. Has many local historical artifacts.
• The Billericay Historical Walk is a good way of seeing the most interesting older buildings. There are several buildings from the 16th century in the High Street. Billericay's historic buildings are mixed in among some rather less attractive ones from the 1970s and 1980s.
• The Billericay Society. Has information about some of the historic buildings.
• Norsey Woods, Outwood Common Rd, 51.632°, 0.436°. A Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Relics from as long ago as the Stone Age have been found there and it has been designated an Ancient Monument.

Do

• Barleylands. Just outside the town, has many things to see and do, including a children's farm centre and museum and a craft village. It can easily be accessed by public transport on the 100 bus from the town centre and station.
• Billericay Town Football Club. They play in the Ryman League Premier Division.
• Mill Meadows. A local nature reserve near the centre of Billericay. It is one of the finest ancient meadow systems in Essex. Centuries of grazing have created the ideal conditions for a wonderful diversity of wild flowers, fungi, insects and invertebrates, many of which are very rare. It also contains an area of 16.63 acres (6.73 ha) that has been declared as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its unimproved neutral grassland.

Events

Local events throughout the year include:

• Billericay Summerfest
• Billericay Christmas Market
• Billericay Fireworks

Buy

The High Street has a mixture of chain stores and small independent shops.

• Waitrose, 112-118 High St. M-F 7:30AM-9PM, Sa 7:30AM-8PM, Su 11AM-5PM. Grocery store. 2021-11-15

Eat

There are loads of places to eat and drink for a place of its size.

• Prezzo, 6 High Street, +44 1277 658273. M-Th noon-10PM, F Sa 11:30AM-10:30PM, Su 11:30AM-9:30PM. Pizza, pasta and vino.
• Ask, 91 High St. M-Th 11:30AM-9:30PM, F 11:30AM-10PM, Sa 11:30AM-11PM, Su 11:30AM-9PM. Italian.
• La Toscana. Tu-Sa noon-2:30PM, 6-10PM. Italian.
• Yau's, 5 High St.. M-Th 10AM-2PM, daily 5-11PM. Chinese. Dine in or take away. 2021-11-15
• Reids Billericay, 66-68 Laindon Rd, +44 1277 632378. W-Sa 11AM–12:30AM, Su noon–10PM.
• The Magic Mushroom, Barleylands Road, +44 1268 289963. W–Sa noon-midnight, Su noon-7PM. Vegan and children's menu available. Mains £18-38
• Kosthuree, 61 High St, +44 1277 624996. M-W 5–10PM, Th-Su 5:30–10PM. Bangladeshi restaurant. 2021-11-15

Drink

Amongst the pubs and bars in the town centre are:

• Red Lion, 113 High St. Noon-11PM. A Marston's pub. Kids' menu. 2011-11-15
• Blue Boar, 39 High St. 8AM-11PM. A JD Wetherspoon pub. 2011-11-15

Pleasingly none of Billericay's pubs employs the ridiculous Essex tradition of only allowing people in who are wearing the right type of footwear!

Sleep

• The nearest hotels are in Basildon.
• Barleylands Farm Park & The Village, Barleylands Road, +44 1268 290223. Camping in the summer. Tent or caravan with 1 person £12.50, £2.50 per additional person, £4 for electrical hookup 2021-11-15

Connect

As of Feb 2023, Billericay and its approach roads have 4G from all UK carriers. 5G has not reached town.

Go next

• Burnham-on-Crouch - nice quaint seaside town
• Colchester - historic town with a castle
• Brentwood - accessible by train or car, home of the hit television show The Only Way is Essex.
• Southend-on-Sea - accessible by train, seaside town with the longest pleasure pier in the world.
• London - 30 minutes away by train via London Liverpool Street