Scaur Bank

The River Wharfe carves through a proper gorge here, and Scaur Bank is where you get the best view of it - towering limestone cliffs dropping down to the water below. It's a nature reserve just outside Tadcaster, so easily managed as a half-day outing from any of the nearby holiday parks like Wighill or Rudding.

What you're looking at is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which sounds stuffy until you actually stand there and realise the cliffs support wildflowers and nesting birds that you won't find in many other places round here. Spring brings the best show - wood anemones, bluebells, the lot. The walk itself is straightforward enough, though it's on the steep side in places and can get muddy after rain.

This works brilliantly if you're already based at one of the caravan parks for a week. Walkers will appreciate the riverside path and the geological interest - the limestone is Carboniferous, apparently, though I'll be honest you don't need to care about that to enjoy it. Families with primary-aged kids will get something out of a scramble down here, but younger toddlers might find the terrain a bit much.

Allow a couple of hours including stops for photos. There's no visitor centre or facilities on-site, so come prepared. It's free to access, which is the best kind of nature reserve. Go mid-week if you can - weekends get busier than they should for somewhere this quiet.