Old Wood

Walk into Old Wood near Grantham and you're immediately swallowed by proper ancient woodland - the kind of place where the canopy is so thick you forget what time of day it is. The forest floor is thick with leaf litter and roots that have been doing their work for centuries, and the air smells exactly as a wood should: damp earth and decay and life all mixed together.

This is old-growth woodland, the real deal. Walking through it feels nothing like a manicured country estate - it's wild, with fallen trees left where they drop and undergrowth that actually grows. You'll spot bluebells here in spring if you time it right, and in autumn the colour is genuinely worth the trip from Grantham, which sits just a few miles south.

It's brilliant for walkers who want something more interesting than a flat park trail, though muddy boots are non-negotiable. Kids who get excited about finding insects and clambering over logs will have a proper time here, but younger children might find it a bit samey after twenty minutes or so. Allow an hour to two hours depending on how much you want to explore.

If you're staying at Wagtail Country Park nearby, this makes an excellent morning excursion before heading back to the caravan. The woodland offers what you won't get in the open parkland - shade, shelter, and that genuine sense of being somewhere wild. Best visited after dry weather when the paths aren't treacherous.