Pepperton Hill

The walk up Pepperton Hill takes about twenty minutes from Royston, and you'll know you've made it when the landscape suddenly opens out - proper East Anglian vistas spreading across Cambridgeshire in all directions. It's not a dramatic peak by any stretch, but that's rather the point. At around 200 metres, it's the sort of gentle ascent that gets families huffing slightly without anyone complaining they'll never walk again.

From the top, the flatness of the county becomes almost beautiful in its own way. You can see for miles on clear days, and the sense of height - modest as it is - feels earned because everything else around here is so determinedly level. On a breezy afternoon it's genuinely bracing.

The hill itself takes no more than an hour to explore properly, which makes it ideal as a half-morning walk if you're staying at Pightle Farm Campsite or Shepreth Mill Caravan Park nearby. Neither requires you to commit your whole day. Walkers will appreciate the straightforward route and the lack of crowds. Kids might find it a bit samey unless you make a game of spotting landmarks from the top - the church spires, distant woodlands, the patchwork of fields.

Go on a clear day if you can. Rainy weather turns it into just another muddy bump. Free to visit, obviously - it's a hill. Leave Royston early to avoid the afternoon droop.