Coombe Plantation

Deep in the Devon woodland south of Totnes, Coombe Plantation is the sort of place locals know but most visitors miss entirely. It's essentially a managed forest - dense, quiet, and proper atmospheric on a grey afternoon. You get miles of walking trails threading through mixed woodland, the kind where you lose phone signal and start thinking differently. The trees themselves aren't ancient - this is working forestry, replanted and tended - but after a wet spell the ferns go mad and the whole place feels genuinely wild.

It's brilliant for walkers wanting something low-key. No car parks with gift shops, no numbered routes or way markers obsessing over your experience. Just forest. Families with older kids who don't need constant entertainment will find it peaceful, though toddlers might grind to a halt. Bring proper boots if it's been wet - the paths get boggy quick.

Free to access as far as I can tell, and you can spend anywhere from an hour to half a day depending on your stamina and which trails you pick. Spring's when it's most worth the trip - bluebell-time makes the understory properly magical. Summer's sticky and buggy. Winter's fine if you want bare branches and better views.

It pairs well with a South Bay Holiday Park break if you're after somewhere to base yourself. The forest is manageable as a morning or late-afternoon walk before heading back for tea. Nothing flashy, but exactly what you want when you're after quiet woodland and nothing else.