Bedgebury Park

Bedgebury sits on the Kent-Sussex border near Cranbrook as one of the country's most substantial pinetum collections. It's not a manicured gardens job - this is proper forest, planted in the Victorian era and left to do its thing. You'll find yourself walking beneath towering conifers from around the world: giant sequoias, Japanese larches, Douglas firs that make you crane your neck skyward. The place feels genuinely wild in places, with winding paths that disappear into dense woodland. There's a lake too, which adds another dimension - water reflecting those impressive trees in the morning is worth the visit alone.

It works brilliantly if you're after serious walking rather than a quick stroll. Allow a couple of hours minimum to do it justice; the paths interconnect across the 300-acre reserve, so you can loop through different sections or cut through if you're flagging. Families with kids who actually like being outdoors will get more from it than those wanting manicured paths and ice cream vans - there's a genuine forest-ramble feel here. It's free to enter, which is a genuine bonus.

If you're basing yourselves at Glassenbury Camping, which sits just 2.6 miles away, Bedgebury makes for a straightforward morning or afternoon out. The forest canopy is dense enough that you're sheltered from summer heat, which matters when you're camping in Kent. Go midweek if possible - weekends can draw weekend walkers from Cranbrook and beyond. Spring's when the new growth shows, but honestly, winter's atmospheric too.