Coopers Hill nature reserve

The steep slope of Coopers Hill, just outside Stroud, is a proper limestone grassland - the sort of place where you forget you're in England proper because the wildflowers are that good. In spring and early summer, the hillside explodes with rarities: horseshoe vines, man orchids, and if you're lucky, the occasional bee orchid that makes you stop dead. It's a nature reserve run by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, and it matters because these chalk grasslands are vanishing across Britain.

Walkers and photographers will get the most out of this one. You can spend twenty minutes poking around the steeper bits or a full hour if you're the sort who stops to identify every plant. The views down towards Stroud and across the Severn Valley are decent, though it's not about the vista - it's about what's growing under your feet. That said, families with very young children might find it a bit of a slog, and there's nowhere to sit once you've trudged up.

Free to visit. No proper facilities that I could find, so bring water and good shoes - the slope is genuine. Spring is when you need to be here. If you're stopping at one of the glamping spots nearby - Cherry Tree or Painswick are both close - it makes a cracking half-day out. Combine it with a wander around Painswick itself for the afternoon. The reserve doesn't take long, so don't expect an all-day affair, but it's exactly the kind of small, specific place worth a detour if you care about wildflowers.