Crooksbury Hill Trig Point

The walk up Crooksbury Hill takes about twenty minutes from the car park, and it's properly steep in places - not brutal, but enough that you'll feel it in your legs. The trig point itself sits on top of open heathland, and on a clear day the views across the Surrey-Hampshire border are genuinely excellent. You can see for miles, which sounds like hyperbole until you're actually up there squinting at distant landmarks.

It's the kind of place that rewards you for the effort without demanding much of you. The summit is grassland and gorse, windswept and honest. No café, no shops, no nonsense - just views and the occasional walker catching their breath. Most people allow an hour return trip, though you could dawdle longer if you brought a flask.

Walkers will love this more than families with small children, simply because the path is what it is and there's nowhere to sit except the ground. History enthusiasts might appreciate that you're standing on ancient heathland - this landscape has barely changed in centuries. Farnham is your nearest town for supplies, about four miles away.

If you're staying at Tilford Woods Lodge Retreat, this is practically on your doorstep at just over two miles. Little Cowdray Farm Glamping is bit further but still within easy striking distance. Visit early morning on a weekday if you want solitude, or accept that weekends will bring other hikers. The exposure can be bracing in winter, lovely in spring when the gorse flowers.