East Ochre

The woodland around East Ochre pulls you in quietly - no grand entrance, no visitor centre, just trees and the kind of silence that makes you realise how little you get it elsewhere. This is proper North Yorkshire forest, the sort of place where you can walk for hours without seeing another soul, which is either brilliant or slightly eerie depending on your mood.

It's working forest more than manicured parkland. Paths wind through mixed woodland with decent tree cover - larch and spruce mixed with broadleaves. The terrain's gentle enough for families with older kids, though younger ones might struggle with muddy patches after rain. You'll want proper boots. Allow two to three hours if you're doing a decent loop, though you can pop in for an hour's wander and it'll scratch the itch just fine.

This works exceptionally well if you're camping or glamping locally - the nearby sites like Wolds Walk Glamping and Vale of Pickering Caravan Park are close enough that you can slip away without planning a full day out. Malton's only a short drive, so you could combine a morning here with lunch in town. Walkers get the most from it; it's not a destination that'll keep small children entertained all day, and history buffs won't find much to grip them.

Bring a map. Phone signal's patchy, and the paths, while fairly obvious, do fork occasionally. It's free to access and always open - that's the beauty of forest walks in England. Go early if you want solitude; weekends bring the dog walkers out.