Sourmore Covert

Walk into Sourmore Covert and you're under proper old-growth woodland - the sort where the canopy blocks out most of the sky and the ground stays damp even after weeks without rain. It's a working forest near Lydney, so don't expect manicured paths or signage every fifty metres. What you get instead is the real thing: deep shade, thick undergrowth, and the kind of quiet you only find when you're genuinely away from it all.

This is squarely for woodland walkers and anyone who likes a bit of exploration without the crowds. Kids will either love scrambling through bracken and building dens or get bored after twenty minutes - depends entirely on the child. There's no visitor centre or facilities to speak of, so come prepared with proper boots and a sense of direction. Allow a couple of hours if you want to actually wander rather than just dip in.

Timing-wise, spring and early summer are best when the forest floor is busy with life. Winter's decent too if you don't mind mud. From Lydney itself it's easily reached, which makes it a proper add-on to a park holiday rather than a destination in itself. Both Wixoldbury Farm Glamping and Pepper Pot Caravan Park are close enough that you could base yourself at either and explore Sourmore as part of a wider Gloucestershire push. It won't take your whole holiday - that's not the point. It's the sort of place you visit because you actually want to be in woodland, not because you're ticking boxes.