Bin Combe

The walk into Bin Combe from Holford is quietly rewarding - steep in places, muddy more often than not, but the kind of Somerset woodland that makes you forget you're still in England. It's a proper gorge, really, with a stream running through it and trees closing in overhead. You won't find much of a "destination" at the end, which is half the appeal. This isn't somewhere you come for views or a visitor centre. You come for the walk itself, for the sound of water, for the relief of shade on a hot day.

Walkers will get the most from Bin Combe. Families with confident young legs can manage it, though the terrain's unforgiving after rain and there's not much to hold their attention once they're tired. The path is about two miles in and back - easy to do in an hour or so, longer if you're taking photographs or just standing about listening. Go in late spring or early autumn when the woodland's either fresh or turning proper golden.

Free to access, no facilities whatsoever. Bring decent boots. If you're staying at Moorhouse Campsite just up the road, this makes a cracking morning outing before breakfast cools down. Haven Doniford Bay is a bit further out but still within easy driving distance if you want a proper forest walk alongside your seaside break. It's the sort of place that doesn't photograph well, which is precisely why it's worth visiting.