Bright Hill Plantation

The woods around Bright Hill Plantation offer proper countryside walking country, the sort of place where you can actually hear yourself think. It's a working forest in Oxfordshire, just a couple of miles from Shipston-on-Stour, with decent tracks running through it that'll take you a good hour or so to explore properly. The plantation itself is mixed woodland - nothing fancy, but solid and peaceful. You won't find interpretation boards or visitor facilities here; this is the real thing, not a honeypot attraction.

Walkers will get the most from it. Bring proper boots if you've had rain, as the paths can get muddy. It's the sort of walk you'd do on a crisp autumn morning when the light filters through the canopy and you spot the odd pheasant darting across the forest floor. Not one for young children who need constant entertainment, but older kids who can manage a decent ramble will enjoy it. The nearest thing to a "facility" is probably Shipston-on-Stour itself, a proper market town with cafes and pubs where you can warm up afterwards.

If you're camping at Kirby Farm or Shire Camping - both within two miles - this makes a natural morning's outing before heading to somewhere with more bells and whistles. It's the sort of place that separates the actual walkers from the day-trippers. Honest, unglamorous, and worth the detour if you like your countryside straightforward.