Breakheart Hill

The walk up Breakheart Hill, just outside Dursley, is a proper scramble - short, steep, and exactly the kind of leg-burner that makes you question your fitness the moment you start climbing. The summit rewards that effort with views across the Cotswolds that genuinely justify the sweat. On a clear day you're looking out over rolling countryside that feels like it goes on forever, the kind of vista that explains why people bother with peaks at all.

It's not a massive undertaking - most people knock this out in under an hour, including the climb and a decent sit-down at the top. The path is well-trodden, which means it's manageable but also a bit rutted after wet weather, so decent boots make sense. Families with energetic kids will get the most from it; the climb is short enough that even reluctant walkers don't have time to complain properly, and the payoff at the top keeps them interested for a bit.

Staying at one of the nearby caravan parks - The Roost Retreats is closest at just 1.4 miles away, or Pepper Pot a bit further out - gives you easy access to this and other Cotswold walks without the faffing about of finding car parks in Dursley town centre. It's the kind of spot you'd do first thing while everyone's fresh, then base yourself at the park for exploring the wider area. Free to visit, naturally. Not Instagram-famous, which is frankly its biggest selling point.