Monkham Wood

The woods around Saint Leonards-on-Sea tend to stay quiet, and Monkham Wood is exactly the sort of place that rewards turning up without fanfare. It's proper Sussex woodland - the kind where you're more likely to hear a woodpecker than another person, even on a weekend. The forest floor is thick with leaf litter and moss, the canopy dense enough that it feels genuinely removed from the coast just a few miles south.

Walkers will get the most from this. There's nothing theatrical about it - no designated visitor centre, no car park with an ice cream van - just paths that wind through beech and oak, with occasional glimpses of the Hastings hinterland. You could spend an hour here, or three hours if you've got the maps and the inclination. It's the sort of wood where you'd come back in different seasons and swear it's a different place.

Families with younger kids might find it a bit shapeless - there's no loop walk, no obvious destination - though older children who actually enjoy walking rather than ticking off attractions will thrive here. It pairs well with Beech Estate Campsite just down the road if you're basing yourself for a proper woodland break.

The real appeal? It's not managed to death. Just trees, paths, and the occasional reminder that Sussex still has proper wild corners. Go when you've got time to amble rather than race through.