Mace Wood

The walk into Mace Wood from Ashford is quiet and proper rewarding if you're after an hour or two away from roads. It's a mixed woodland - oak, ash, beech - that feels like it's been left to its own devices, which makes it genuinely pleasant rather than manicured. The paths wind through without too much fuss, and you get that lovely moment when the town noise drops away entirely.

It's not a dramatic woodland. No waterfall moments or thousand-year-old giants. What it does offer is the kind of place where you can actually hear birds and spot the occasional deer if you're quiet about it. Families with younger kids will manage the main routes fine - nothing too steep - though there's not much to stop and stare at for extended periods. If your children are the type who need attractions rather than just trees, they'll be restless after 45 minutes.

Walkers will appreciate it more. The trails connect decently and you can loop through without backtracking, which beats the in-and-out frustration of some smaller woods. Autumn's proper good here - the light through the leaves does the work for you.

If you're staying at Go Glamp nearby, it's absolutely worth chucking a morning walk here into your itinerary. Free, accessible from Ashford, and it fills that gap between breakfast and lunch without demanding much planning. Just go when it's not waterlogged.