Redbank Wood

The woodland around Redbank Wood, just outside Ambleside, is exactly the sort of place you wander into without ceremony and end up staying twice as long as you meant to. It's proper forest - mixed deciduous and conifers, the kind where light filters through in shafts and you can actually hear yourself think. There are decent walking trails threading through, nothing too taxing, just the right pace for letting your head clear.

Walkers will find it genuinely useful rather than spectacular. The paths are well-trodden enough to follow without constant map-checking, and it links nicely into the broader Lake District network if you're doing a longer day out. Families with children who don't need constant entertainment will get something out of it - there's enough shade, the undergrowth is interesting enough to poke about in, and it's free to access whenever you fancy. Don't come expecting dramatic vistas or mountain scenery; this is the antidote to that.

If you're staying at Parkdean Resorts Limefitt Holiday Park or Fallbarrow Holiday Park, both within a few miles, Redbank Wood makes a natural half-day venture. You could easily combine it with a walk into Ambleside itself - the wood sits close enough that you're not wasting half the day just getting somewhere. Early morning is best if you want any sense of solitude, and autumn's decent for the colour, though it's serviceable year-round. Bring decent boots if it's been wet; the ground can get boggy in patches.