Bushy Park

Three hundred and fifty acres of open parkland on London's southwestern edge, and you can actually breathe here. Bushy Park is one of those places that feels properly wild despite being minutes from the suburbs - ancient woodland, grassland, and the River Colne threading through it all. The main draw is the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, which sits in a clearing and gets busy at weekends, but wander five minutes into the network of paths and you'll lose the crowds entirely.

Walkers will have a proper time of it. The landscape shifts enough to keep things interesting - open rides, woodland sections, patches of grassland where you might spot fallow deer. It's not mountainous terrain, but there's enough rolling ground to work your legs without needing hiking boots. Families with younger kids do well here too; the fountain area has space to run about, and the paths are wide enough for pushchairs if you stick to the main routes.

If you're based at Walton on Thames Camping and Caravanning Club Site just 2.5 miles away, this becomes your morning walk sorted. Free to enter, and you can do an hour or stretch it to three hours depending on how deep you want to go. Spring's the best bet - the bluebells are worth the trip alone. Combine it with a visit to Chessington World of Adventures Resort four miles off if you've got kids who need more structured entertainment, though honestly, Bushy Park on a clear day does enough.