Greenham Common Car Park

The car park at Greenham Common is your gateway to one of the most historically significant pieces of British Cold War landscape you can walk across today. This isn't a tourist attraction with a visitor centre or gift shop - it's the real thing. The common itself sprawls across 340 acres of heathland just west of Newbury, and the car park gives you direct access to walk the perimeter road where American cruise missiles were once stationed during the 1980s. You'll see the old runway, concrete bases, and if you're keen on that particular slice of history, the remnants of one of the most contentious military installations of the late 20th century.

Historians and Cold War buffs will find this genuinely absorbing. The walking is straightforward - flat, open terrain - so it suits families with older kids and anyone after a decent stomp across heathland without the scrambling. Allow a couple of hours if you're doing a proper circuit. Winter's actually the best time to visit because the heather's dormant and you get clearer sightlines across the common, plus fewer insects. Summer can be a bit boggy.

It's free to use, obviously - it's a car park. If you're based nearby at Cherry Bird Country Park or Bishops Green Farm Campsite, both within a couple of kilometres, this makes an excellent morning walk that doesn't require a car journey. The landscape is genuinely eerie in places, and there's something compelling about walking where such tension played out. Not for everyone, but for those interested in recent British history, it's absolutely worth your time.