Bunker Hill

The walk up Bunker Hill from Durham rewards you with proper views across the Wear Valley - nothing fancy, just honest moorland scenery that opens up the moment you gain a bit of height. It's a straightforward pull from town, popular with locals who know the quickest routes and return within an hour or so.

What you get here is working landscape rather than drama. Farmers' fields, distant hills, the river valley threading below. The summit itself is more of a viewpoint than a peak - you'll recognise it by the cairn and the sudden sense of space around you. On a clear day Durham Cathedral sits obvious to the south. On a grey day, well, you've still got the walk and the fresh air.

Walkers will find it reliable. Families with kids will manage it fine if they're used to fields and modest inclines - nothing technical, nothing exposed. History types get less here than you might hope, though the name suggests military earthworks from centuries back. The casual explorer will spend forty minutes up and twenty down, feeling they've done something without overdoing it.

Camp at Finchale Abbey just down the road and you're five minutes from the trailhead. It's the sort of hill that works best as part of a broader Durham walk rather than a solo mission. Bundle it in with exploring the cathedral, maybe the riverside paths, and it slots neatly into a proper day out. Free to walk, obviously. No facilities at the summit.