Balancing pond

The name alone makes you stop and wonder what you're about to find. Balancing Pond sits on the eastern edge of Cambridge, a modest body of water that serves the practical purpose of flood management but has quietly become a spot worth knowing about. It's exactly what it sounds like - a shallow lake designed to catch excess water when the Fens get temperamental, which means the water level shifts seasonally and so does the whole character of the place.

There's nothing showy about it. You won't find cafes or visitor facilities, just open water fringed with reeds and rough grassland where you can actually think. The birdwatching is decent - herons, cormorants, the odd marsh harrier if you're lucky - and the walking is straightforward enough for all ages. The path around it takes maybe 45 minutes at a leisurely pace. Bring binoculars and patience rather than expecting views to leap out at you.

It works best as a half-hour diversion on a Cambridge day trip rather than a destination in itself, particularly for anyone staying at Lodeside Glamping or Fen Meadows, which are barely a mile away. The surrounding countryside is classic Cambridgeshire fen - flat, quiet, a bit windswept. Go early on a weekday if you want it to yourself. Free to visit, naturally, and there's nowhere to spend money even if you wanted to. Families with young children might find it underwhelming after a bit - there's genuinely nothing to do except look and walk - but that's precisely why some people will love it.