Cadge Wood

The woodland around Cadge Wood near Corby is exactly what you need if you've pitched up at one of the local holiday parks and fancy stretching your legs without driving anywhere. It's proper forest walking - the kind where you can actually lose yourself for an hour without worrying you've wandered onto someone's driveway.

The trees here are thick enough that even on a grey day the light filters through nicely, and the paths are well-trodden enough that you won't spend the whole time navigating. Kids will enjoy spotting wildlife - rabbits, woodland birds, the occasional surprise of a deer if you're lucky and quiet. It's the sort of place where a two-hour amble feels substantial without being exhausting.

If you're based at Rockingham Forest Park or Castle Farm Campsite nearby, this sits within Northamptonshire's broader woodland network, so you could easily combine it with exploring the wider Rockingham Forest area. New Lodge Farm and Brightside are close enough that you won't waste a morning just getting there.

Bring decent shoes - the ground gets boggy after rain - and don't expect facilities. There's no visitor centre or tearoom, which is either brilliant or disappointing depending on your mood. Go early if you want any sense of solitude. It's free, obviously, and you can spend as little or as long as you like wandering. Not the most dramatic woodland in England, but it's genuine and unmanicured.