Grove Copse

A proper woodland walk through Hampshire countryside, Grove Copse offers the kind of quiet forest that makes you remember why you left the suburbs. Ancient trees, clear paths, and enough shade to keep you cool even on a roasting summer's day. There's no visitor centre or tea shop - it's just you and the woods, which is exactly the point.

You'll find mixed woodland with oak and beech, the sort of place where woodland management has been taken seriously. The paths are well-trodden and straightforward enough for families with young walkers, though it's not a destination attraction so much as a proper break from driving. Budget 45 minutes to an hour, or longer if you're the sort to stop and identify birds or just sit on a fallen log for a bit.

It works brilliantly alongside a park holiday near Alresford. The Spinney Caravan Park and Woodlands Camping are both within a couple of miles, so you can base yourself there and slip into Grove Copse for a morning walk before doing whatever else the area throws at you. Alresford itself is worth a poke around - proper Georgian town with a decent high street - but the copse is the pull if you're after air and space.

Free to enter, no facilities to speak of. Go early if you can, especially at weekends, because it does get busy with locals who know the value of a decent wood. Best visited autumn through spring when the ground's firmer and the light filters through bare branches.