Birchley Wood

Birchley Wood is a proper working woodland just outside Atherstone, the sort of place locals know about but tourists often miss entirely. You get mixed broadleaf forest - oak, ash, birch - with a decent network of paths that wind through without any of the corporate visitor centre nonsense. The main appeal is straightforward: it's a genuine walk through actual woodland, not a manicured nature reserve with laminated signs at every turn.

Walkers will get the most from it. Allow an hour to ninety minutes if you're not rushing, longer if you want to potter about looking for wildlife. There's nothing to do here except walk, look at trees, and listen to the birds - which is precisely why it works. The forest floor's damp in winter and muddy underfoot after rain, so decent boots are essential. Spring's when it feels most alive, with bluebells and woodland birds making proper noise.

It's free to access and has no set opening hours, which means you can turn up whenever you fancy. From Atherstone it's a quick drive, making it dead handy if you're camping nearby - Nightingales Rustic Camping is just down the road at 1.7 miles, and both Lime Tree and Ettie's Field are within reasonable reach. The woodland combines well with a forest holiday; it's genuine rather than theatrical, which some people find refreshing and others find slightly underwhelming. Worth the detour if you like your woodland unvarnished.