Kneesall Wood

The woodland around Kneesall, just outside Newark, is proper walking country. It's not the dramatic stuff you get further north - no windswept ridges or dramatic gorges - but instead the kind of mature forest that rewards a slow morning with decent paths and room to breathe. The mix of oak and beech gives good shade in summer, and autumn colour here is genuinely worth timing a visit around.

This is squarely walker territory. You'll get families doing a couple of hours before lunch, but it's really the kind of place that adults drift into on their own or with a friend, settling into that quiet rhythm of woodland walking. There's no visitor centre or facilities to speak of, which keeps it properly local feeling rather than packaged.

Allow two to three hours if you want to make a proper morning of it and explore without rushing. The paths are well-trodden enough not to require a map, though bringing one wouldn't hurt. Spring and autumn are the best calls - winter gets muddy in patches, and summer can feel a bit thick.

If you're based at one of the caravan parks nearby - Center Parcs Sherwood Forest is closest at just over five miles, or Sherwood Castle if you want something smaller - Kneesall Wood slots in nicely as a quieter complement to the more touristy Sherwood Forest attractions. It's the kind of place that doesn't demand much but rewards time spent there.