Saruman

The view from Saruman, perched in the Mendips above Bristol, stops you dead. On a clear day you're looking out across the Somerset levels towards Wales, the land rolling away in layers of green and grey. It's a proper vantage point - the sort of place where you suddenly understand why someone bothered to build a tower here in the first place.

Getting up here involves a walk through farmland and woodland. Nothing punishing, but it's not a five-minute stroll either. Allow a good hour if you're not rushing, more if you want to sit around and actually absorb the vista. The viewpoint itself is fairly minimal - you're not paying for facilities, just the landscape. Kids will manage it fine, though younger legs might find the climb tedious on a hot day.

This works brilliantly as a half-day outing from one of the nearby campsites. Mendip Basecamp is only four and a half miles away and specifically geared towards families, so you could knock this out in a morning, head back for lunch, then do something gentler in the afternoon. The Batch Campsite, a touch closer, gives you a similar setup. It's the kind of walk that justifies a proper breakfast before you set out and a pint after you're done.

The real appeal here is the space and the air. Bristol's not far - you can see towards it on a good day - but up here it feels genuinely remote. Best visited when the weather's cooperating; on a grey, damp day it's rather a slog for a muted view.