Highbridge

The M5 thunders past this modest Somerset town, but slow down and you'll find Highbridge has more going for it than motorway services. Straddling the River Brue, it's one of those proper working towns that doesn't try too hard to impress - which is rather refreshing.

Ralph's Wood offers a lovely escape just minutes from the town centre, with well-marked trails winding through ancient woodland. The birdsong here drowns out the distant hum of traffic. Giles's Copse and The Shrubbery provide additional woodland walking, though Ralph's Wood is the pick of the bunch for a proper ramble.

What makes Highbridge genuinely useful is its position. Burnham-on-Sea's Victorian seafront sits just three miles away, while the dramatic Mendip Hills rise to the east. The town's railway station connects directly to Bristol and London, making it surprisingly well-connected for somewhere so unassuming.

St Christopher's Church anchors the old part of town, its Norman tower a reminder that people have lived here for centuries. The newer Gospel Centre and Hope Baptist Church serve the community today, while Woof Hall & Dog Field gives local pet owners somewhere to exercise their charges.

Staying at one of the nearby holiday parks makes perfect sense if you're exploring this stretch of Somerset. You're close enough to nip into Burnham for fish and chips, yet far enough from the crowds to enjoy some peace. The surrounding levels stretch for miles - flat, fertile farmland crossed by ancient drove roads and dotted with willows. It's landscape that grows on you, especially on misty mornings when the whole world seems suspended in time.