Forge Coppice

Walk into Forge Coppice and you're stepping into proper Shropshire woodland - the kind of place where the canopy gets thick enough that you lose track of time. It's a working coppice woodland near Shrewsbury, and the whole point is that it's being actively managed the traditional way, which means you get these lovely open glades alongside dense thickets of hazel and hornbeam.

You won't find much in the way of facilities or formal paths - this isn't a country estate with marked routes and tea rooms. What you get instead is the real thing: a chance to walk through working woodland where you might spot evidence of coppicing work, fallen logs creating natural shelters, and genuine woodland ecology at play. It's brilliant for anyone who likes trees more than crowds, and older kids will find it engaging if they're the type to poke about in undergrowth looking for insects and fungi.

The nearest real services are back in Shrewsbury, but if you're based at Springfield Riverside Camping just half a mile away, or Shropshire Glamping a few miles south, you're perfectly positioned for an easy woodland wander. Hawk Lake Caravan Park to the east is another decent option. Allow an hour or two depending on how far you fancy roaming - there's no pressure to tick it off quickly.

Go in autumn when the light filters through gold, or spring when the bluebells are out. Winter can be muddy and a bit bleak, summer gets thick and insect-heavy.