Butcher's Hill

You'll find yourself on Somerset's Blackdown Hills, standing on a modest summit that commands proper views across the rolling countryside toward Devon. Butcher's Hill isn't dramatic - no jagged peaks or vertiginous drops - but that's rather the point. It's a genuine walker's peak, the kind where the achievement is the legs you've burned getting there and the miles you can see from the top.

From Crewkerne, it's an easy drive inland, then a straightforward walk through farmland and woodland that takes most people an hour to reach the summit. The paths are well-trodden and family-friendly, though the final stretch gets a touch steep. Once you're up there, you get clear views on decent days - the sort of panorama that makes you understand why people bother hiking at all.

Walkers and countryside types will get the most out of this. You're not coming here for a dramatic photograph or to tick off a famous landmark; you're coming because you enjoy the walk itself and want a proper vantage point at the end of it. Families with young children might find the approach a bit much for little legs, but older kids who've done a few walks will manage fine.

If you're staying at Esme's Escape or Thorney Lakes, both within easy reach, this makes a cracking morning or afternoon outing. Pair it with a pub lunch in Crewkerne on the way back. It won't take all day, but that's the beauty of it - honest hills don't require grand planning.