Grafton Wood

The woodland around Grafton, just outside Pershore, is proper old-growth stuff - ancient oak and hornbeam that's been here for centuries. You're walking under a proper forest canopy, not the manicured stuff you get in some country estates. The paths wind through and open out into clearings where you can actually breathe a bit.

It's the kind of place walkers get genuinely excited about. The trees are gnarled and substantial, and if you go in spring, the bluebells do something ridiculous. Autumn's equally good - that specific wet-woodland smell mixed with leaf mould. There's real quietness here, which sounds obvious for a forest but isn't always the case.

You'll want at least 90 minutes to get the most of it without rushing. Families with younger kids might find it a bit samey after an hour unless they're the type to kick about looking for insects and fallen branches. Older children and proper walkers will find it entirely absorbing.

It slots brilliantly into a Worcestershire holiday. Pershore itself is worth a poke around, and the nearby glamping spots - Bowbrook Lodges and Plum Tree with its railway wagon and hot tub - sit within easy reach. You could do the wood in the morning, lunch in Pershore, then an afternoon's walk elsewhere. The Springs Holiday Park is another decent base if you're after something a touch more conventional.

Access and parking details aren't widely publicised, so worth checking locally in Pershore before you go. Worth the detour though.