Kathleen Wood

A proper Yorkshire woodland, Kathleen Wood sits just outside Richmond and delivers exactly what you'd want from a forest walk - decent paths, quiet enough that you can actually hear yourself think, and the kind of dappled light that makes you forget you're only twenty minutes from town.

It's woodland as it should be: no visitor centre, no gift shop, no staged attractions. You get trees, mostly, with a network of paths that take somewhere between 45 minutes and two hours depending on which route you fancy and how often you stop to admire things. The canopy is thick enough in summer that it stays cool even when everywhere else is baking, which is rather lovely.

Walkers will appreciate this more than anyone else. It's not a destination in itself - you won't come here and stay for a full day - but it's an excellent morning or afternoon outing if you're based nearby. The paths are well-maintained enough, though it does get muddy after rain, so proper boots are sensible. There's no dramatic viewpoint or geological drama; it's about woodland immersion rather than spectacle.

If you're staying at Hewn Yorkshire, just down the road, this is an easy leg-stretch without needing to drive far. Richmond itself has more cultural meat on the bone, but for a quiet woodland wander on a day when the weather's decent, Kathleen Wood does the job properly. Free, naturally. Turn up whenever - there's no gate to unlock.