Brooke Covert

The woodland paths at Brooke Covert offer proper relief from the open countryside that dominates much of Rutland. It's a modest forest - nothing like the vast tracts you'll find further north - but that's rather the point. The trees are mature enough to create real shade, and there's a sense of quiet that the surrounding farmland simply doesn't have.

Walkers will find it worthwhile, particularly those doing a longer loop around the villages near Oakham. The paths wind through mixed woodland with decent visibility underfoot, making it suitable for families with school-age kids, though very young children might find the distances tedious. You're looking at anything from half an hour to a couple of hours depending on which route you take. There's something satisfying about the scale of it - big enough to feel properly immersed, small enough that you won't get lost.

The real appeal comes if you're basing yourself at one of the local caravan parks. Greendale Farm and Emily's Cut Camping are both within spitting distance, and Brooke Covert makes an excellent morning or afternoon break when the weather's decent. Spring and early summer are best, when the woodland floor isn't waterlogged and there's actual light filtering through the canopy.

It won't blow your mind, but it's the sort of place that rounds out a Rutland trip nicely - a proper woodland walk rather than another stately home or reservoir visit.