Black Hill

The walk up Black Hill from Macclesfield is a proper leg-burner, but the effort pays off. It's not a tourist trap with a tarmac path and a café halfway up - you're doing proper moorland walking here, scrambling over gritstone outcrops and navigating rough ground. On a clear day, the views across the Cheshire Plain stretch for miles, and you can pick out the Welsh hills if you squint hard enough.

This one's best suited to walkers who don't mind a bit of exposure and uneven terrain. Families with young kids will find the final push steep and tedious, though older teenagers with decent boots will manage it fine. Allow two to three hours for the round trip depending on your fitness level and how long you linger at the top.

The moorland itself is bleak and atmospheric rather than conventionally beautiful - heather, rock, and wind. In poor weather it can feel genuinely wild and a bit disorientating, so navigate carefully. Good weather transforms it though. Worth timing it for an autumn afternoon when the light's golden and the crowds are non-existent.

If you're based at Eastwood End Caravan Park nearby, Black Hill makes an excellent half-day excursion to break up the park routine. The terrain's different enough from gentler Cheshire walks to feel like a proper venture. Wear waterproofs regardless of the forecast - the moor gets boggy and exposure here isn't to be underestimated.