Laxton Middle Wood

Walk into Laxton Middle Wood and you're in proper old-growth forest - the kind where the canopy shuts out most of the sky and the ground is soft with decades of leaf litter. It's a working woodland, which means you'll see the bones of how these places are actually managed: coppiced hazel, rides cut through for forestry access, that sort of thing. The paths are straightforward and well-trodden, nothing technical underfoot.

This is woodland for people who actually want to walk, not just snap a photo. Bring binoculars if you're into birds - the mature trees attract woodpeckers and nuthatches. Kids will get bored after 45 minutes unless they're the type who like turning over logs and hunting for insects. It's free to access, as far as we can tell, and worth combining with a loop through Sherwood Forest proper, which sits just a few miles away.

Nearby Newark makes a sensible base if you're caravan camping - Orchard Park and Greenacres are both close by and give you easy access to this wood plus Sherwood Castle Holiday Forest if you want something with more facilities. Allow an hour or so for a decent ramble. Go when it's not raining if you can; the paths get boggy and lose their charm when you're squelching about. Winter's actually lovely for spotting deer between the bare trees, though it's muddy as hell.