The Glen

The Glen sits just outside Honiton, a proper woodland walk through Devon countryside that feels genuinely remote despite being minutes from town. You're threading between tall conifers and deciduous trees, with the woodland floor doing that soft bounce underfoot that only happens when you've got decades of needle drop and fallen leaves breaking down. It's the sort of place where you can actually hear yourself think - no tourist crowds, no gift shop soundtrack.

What you get here is straightforward: quiet. The paths are well-trodden enough that you won't get lost, but narrow enough that you feel like you've discovered something rather than turned up at a managed attraction. There's a gentle stream running through parts of it, which kids quite like, and the canopy's dense enough that it stays cool even when the rest of Devon's baking. Allow an hour to ninety minutes for a proper wander, though you could do a quick twenty-minute circuit if time's tight.

It works perfectly with a stay at Hartridge Springs Spa Glamping just four miles away - the kind of thing you'd do on a quieter morning before heading to the main attractions, or on an afternoon when you can't face another crowded beach. It's free, as far as I can tell, and operates on an open-access basis. Not transformative, but if you're after genuine peace and quiet rather than Instagram moments, this delivers.