Botany Bay

The woodland around Botany Bay near Cranleigh feels like proper Surrey - dense, manageable, and the sort of place where you can actually get lost without ending up in a dual carriageway. It's a forest walk rather than a destination with facilities, so come prepared for muddy paths and the occasional low branch to the face.

What you get is straightforward: trees, undergrowth, and the kind of quiet that makes you remember why you left London. There's history here too - the name alone suggests something curious happened, though the woodland itself is more about what you see on the day than what's marked out for you. Walkers will find this genuinely worthwhile, especially those who prefer navigating by instinct rather than signposts. Families with primary-school kids will manage fine for an hour or so; anything younger and you're fighting against buggies and boredom.

There's no entrance fee and no set hours - it's that kind of place. Allow an hour minimum, more if you're taking photographs or just mooching about. Best visited autumn or early spring when the ground's firm enough and there's still light at a reasonable hour.

Stay at one of the nearby glamping spots - Firesyde or Little Cowdray Farm are close enough that you can base yourself there and do this as a morning walk before moving on to something with more spectacle. It's not dramatic, but it's honest woodland, and sometimes that's exactly what a holiday needs.