Lower Tamar Lake

The water here is proper still on most days - a long, narrow stretch that cuts through Devon and Cornwall borderland like a knife. Lower Tamar Lake sits just inland from Bude, and it's the sort of place where you can actually breathe without the coastal crowds pressing in around you.

It's a reservoir, essentially, but don't let that put you off. The lake itself is lovely for a walk - there's a decent footpath that runs alongside, and the whole circuit takes about an hour if you're not dawdling. You'll see the dam at the southern end, which is worth the detour purely for the engineering alone. Bring binoculars if you're into birds; the place attracts cormorants and grebes, and on a quiet morning you might spot a heron working the shallows.

For families, this is genuinely good. Kids won't get bored because there's space to move about, the paths are manageable, and the sense of being properly in nature - trees, water, silence - does something to them. Picnics work well here too.

If you're based at Atlantic Horizons or Wooda Farm Holiday Park nearby, Lower Tamar Lake is an easy slot into your schedule - close enough for a morning or afternoon visit without it eating your whole day. It's free to access, which helps when you're weighing up what to do. Go when it's not raining, obviously, but even then the moorland light can be rather good.