The Folly

A Victorian-era folly tower rises unexpectedly from the Cambridgeshire woodland east of Cambridge, and it's genuinely striking the first time you spot it through the trees. The structure itself - ornate, red-brick, utterly purposeless in the best possible way - was built as a private caprice and now stands as one of those wonderfully absurd remnants of 19th-century eccentricity that makes English countryside wandering so rewarding.

You can walk right up to it, though the interior access depends on the day and the mood of whoever's managing the site - worth checking locally before you go. The real appeal isn't climbing inside anyway. It's the walk itself through proper forest, the sudden appearance of this architectural nonsense, and that peculiar satisfaction of finding something that serves no functional purpose whatsoever.

Walkers get the most from this. It's not a destination in itself, but rather a stellar waypoint on a longer route through the woodland. Allow an hour if you're just doing the folly and back, longer if you're exploring the broader forest network. Families with young children might find it underwhelming - it's atmospheric rather than interactive, and there's nowhere to stop for food or facilities.

If you're based at Cuckoo Fen Campsite nearby, this makes an excellent half-day excursion to break up the park routine. It's the sort of walk that justifies a weekend in Cambridgeshire when you might otherwise think there's nothing to do.