Stony Hill

The views from Stony Hill are worth the climb, though calling it a hill feels generous on the day we scrambled up. It's a proper little peak that commands the landscape around Salisbury, and from the top you can see right across the Wiltshire chalk downs - the sort of vista that makes you understand why people bothered walking up there in the first place.

You're looking at a straightforward walk that won't take long but does involve some decent elevation gain. The path itself is well-trodden enough, and on a clear day the surrounding countryside just unfolds beneath you. Walkers will find it satisfying - short enough to fit between breakfast and lunch, but with actual purpose to it. Families with kids who can manage a bit of incline will appreciate that there's an actual destination rather than just ambling through fields.

It's free to access, naturally enough, being open moorland. Go on a weekday morning if you can; weekends bring the Salisbury crowd, and the car park situation gets tight. The best time is autumn when the weather's still decent but the summer heat has gone and you're not melting on the ascent.

If you're basing yourselves at Marshwood Farm Camping or Brades Acre Camp Site - both solid options within five miles - Stony Hill makes for a bracing morning out. It's the sort of walk that sharpens you up before a pub lunch. Don't expect solitude, but do expect views that actually justify the effort.