Birch Wood

Walk into Birch Wood and you're immediately enveloped by tall, papery-barked trees that seem to go on forever. It's the kind of place where the light filters through in those honeyed shafts that make you want to slow down and actually breathe. The woodland floor is soft underfoot, carpeted with leaf litter and moss that's probably been accumulating since the last ice age.

This is proper walker territory. There are decent trails threading through, nothing too technical, but enough to feel like you've earned a bit of solitude. In spring the bluebells come through thick - genuinely worth timing a visit around. Come autumn and the colours are quietly stunning without being Instagram-obvious about it. The birch trees themselves are the main draw, obviously, but you'll find oak and other native species mixed in too.

It's free to access and there's no time limit, so you can spend anything from an hour for a casual stroll to half a day if you're the type who stops to examine every spider's web. Families with young kids might find it a bit monotonous after forty minutes, unless they're keen on nature spotting. Serious walkers and photographers will have a proper think about coming back.

Located just outside Taunton, it slots well into a park holiday around Somerset. Holly Bush Caravan Park is only about two miles away, making it an easy morning walk before heading elsewhere. It's the sort of place that works best out of season when you've got the trails mostly to yourself.