Blackseat Hill

The climb up Blackseat Hill takes about forty minutes from Wooler, and it's a proper workout if you're not used to Northumberland moorland. The views from the top, though - they're worth every puffed breath. You can see clear across the Cheviot Hills on a decent day, and if the cloud's lifted, the Pennines stretch out behind you like rumpled blankets.

It's the kind of walk that appeals to keen hikers rather than casual strollers. The path isn't rough, exactly, but it's steep enough that families with very small children might find it tedious. Teenagers who like getting outdoors will crack on with it, no bother. The moorland itself has that windswept, honest beauty - heather, rough grass, sky that changes its mind every five minutes.

There's no visitor centre or cafe, so take water and something to eat if you're planning to stay up top for a bit. The whole experience - walk, views, break - works as a solid three-hour outing, which fits nicely into a park-based holiday. Both Highburn House and Riverside Wooler Holiday Park sit close enough to Wooler that you can base yourself there and strike out to Blackseat Hill without any faffing about with longer drives.

It's free, as hills tend to be. Go on a clear morning if you can - the afternoon often brings cloud rolling in from the west, and half the point is seeing those big vistas.