Avalon Hide

A wooden bird-watching platform tucked into the Somerset levels near Street, Avalon Hide is exactly what it says on the tin - a place to stand quietly and look for wildlife. The structure itself is modest: timber construction, basic shelter, the kind of thing you'd expect to find at the edge of a nature reserve rather than in a glossy guidebook. What makes it worthwhile is the setting. The levels around here are genuinely wild in places, and if you time it right - early morning or dusk - you'll see herons, lapwings, and the occasional rarer bird drifting across the wetland. It's free to use and takes maybe twenty minutes to visit properly, though serious birdwatchers could easily spend an hour or two here with binoculars and patience.

Families with young children might find it a bit underwhelming unless the kids are already keen on birds. There's no café, no facilities, nowhere to sit if the weather turns. But if you're camping at Bobsfield or Castle Farm - both within a few miles - it's a useful addition to a morning walk, particularly in spring migration season. The Levels as a whole reward exploration, so combine this with a proper ramble rather than treating it as a standalone stop. Go expecting silence and the kind of calm you don't get in most places, and you'll leave satisfied. Turn up expecting interpretation boards and creature comforts, and you'll be disappointed.