Little Upsland Wood

You'll find yourself in a proper woodland walk that doesn't demand much fanfare but delivers genuine peace. Little Upsland Wood, just outside Bedale, is the sort of place locals know about and visitors stumble upon by accident - which is exactly when it's best visited.

It's a compact forest with well-trodden paths that meander through beech and oak, the kind of walk that takes between 30 minutes and an hour depending on how often you stop to listen. There's no visitor centre, no café, no entrance fee - you simply turn up and walk. Families with younger children will find it manageable; older kids might find it a bit short for a full afternoon's entertainment unless you're mixing it with a picnic.

The real value here is as a break from driving if you're staying at one of the nearby parks. Camp Kátur Glamping is less than a mile away, making this an easy morning stroll before breakfast. Woodland Lakes Lodges and Pembroke Caravan Park are both within six miles, so it works as a gentle leg-stretch between activities rather than a destination in its own right.

Go on a damp morning after rain when the woodland smells proper earthy and the paths are quiet. Winter's fine too - less mud than you'd expect. Summer gets busier with families, but it's still far from crowded. Pack a flask and don't expect signage to be comprehensive. This is old-school woodland wandering, and that's rather the point.