Bensill Wood

The woodland around Bensill Wood offers a proper escape if you're staying at one of the caravan parks near Newcastle. It's not dramatic - no towering peaks or rare birds that'll make you feel like a nature documentary extra - but there's something about walking through these Northern Irish woods that just works. The paths are gentle, tree cover is decent, and you're far enough from the main drag that you can actually hear yourself think.

This is squarely walkers' territory. Families with young kids will find it manageable for an hour or so before the novelty of trees wears thin, but anyone after a proper forest ramble will appreciate how accessible it is from Newcastle. The nearby parks - Murlough Cottage, Mourneview, and the others scattered within 5-6 miles - make it a logical half-day excursion if the weather holds. Bring boots if there's been rain; it gets muddy in patches.

You won't need much time here. An hour covers most of it without rushing. There's no facilities to speak of, no visitor centre, no entrance fee nonsense - you just turn up and walk. That's actually quite refreshing. It's the kind of place you'd hit between breakfast at your holiday park and lunch in Newcastle, rather than a major day out. Honest rather than spectacular, but it does the job if you're after genuine woodland without the crowds or the tourist apparatus.