Hill Covert

You'll find yourself walking through proper Norfolk woodland when you venture into Hill Covert, a forest patch that sits east of Thetford and delivers exactly what you'd expect - tall conifers, open glades, and the kind of quiet that makes you realise how little actual silence you get in daily life. It's a straightforward woodland walk, nothing elaborate, but the paths are decent and the cover is genuine if the weather turns sketchy, which in Norfolk it often does.

This is the sort of place where dog walkers outnumber tourists, and that's rather the appeal. You're not fighting crowds or dodging selfie sticks. Bring wellies if it's been wet - the Norfolk soil turns to something close to porridge without warning. Allow an hour or so for a proper amble, longer if you're the sort who stops to identify birds or just stands about breathing forest air. Kids will be fine for a bit, though don't expect anything flashy to hold their attention beyond that.

If you're staying at Oak Lodge Glamping just down the road, this is an easy add-on without needing to drive anywhere special. Grange Farm Touring Park, four miles away, is equally well-placed for a morning sortie. There's no visitor facility that I'm aware of, so pack a flask if you want to sit about. Free access, straightforward, and genuinely restorative rather than Instagram-famous. That's Hill Covert in a sentence.