Easterton Sands

The sandy stretch at Easterton, just outside Devizes, is one of those quiet corners of Wiltshire that doesn't get half the attention it deserves. It's a proper working landscape - part playing field, part natural feature - that gives you an honest sense of what the chalk downs look like when they've eroded away to reveal something golden underneath. You won't find facilities or tourist infrastructure here, which is rather the point. What you get instead is space, a bit of geology, and the kind of view across the Avon Valley that reminds you why people settled in this part of England a thousand years ago.

Walkers will find this worth a detour, particularly if you're linking together a bigger route across the downs. The sands themselves are accessible from the lane, though it's very much a come-as-you-are spot rather than a destination on its own. Allow an hour if you're combining it with a walk; twenty minutes if you're just stopping to look. Families with young kids might find it curious for a bit, but there's no play equipment or formal attractions, so don't expect them to occupy themselves for long.

If you're based at one of the nearby glamping sites - Mill Farm is only three miles away - or camping at Little Owls or Brades Acre, this makes a decent addition to a morning's exploring. Devizes itself offers more conventional attractions, but Easterton Sands gives you something more genuine: a landscape that tells its own story without needing a visitor centre to explain it.