RAF Balderton Memorial

The flat Lincolnshire landscape around Newark opens up properly when you reach the RAF Balderton Memorial - a nature reserve that occupies the former airfield where aircrews trained during World War Two. It's not a dramatic place. There are no ruins or visitor centres, just grassland, scrub, and the kind of quiet that makes you think about what happened here seventy-odd years ago.

You'll find information boards dotted around explaining the site's aviation history, and the paths are straightforward enough for a casual walk. The real draw is the wildlife. This is serious habitat for ground-nesting birds and insects - the sort of place where you might spot lapwings or hear skylarks if you time it right. Birdwatchers and nature photographers will get proper value from it, especially in spring and early summer. Families with younger kids might find it a bit thin on entertainment after half an hour or so - it's contemplative rather than action-packed.

Allow an hour for a decent explore, longer if you're serious about wildlife watching. It's free to visit, which helps. The reserve works brilliantly as a quiet afternoon outing when you're based at nearby Witham Grange Glamping or Secret Garden Glamping. It's exactly the sort of spot that makes a holiday in this part of Lincolnshire feel proper and unhurried rather than just another tourist tick-box.