Buttern Hill

The walk up Buttern Hill rewards you with views across Devon that stretch all the way to the moors. It's not dramatic - there's no sheer drop or windswept ridge - but that's rather the point. From Exeter, it's an easy half-hour drive and a straightforward climb that takes about an hour depending on your pace and how often you stop to look back at the city.

What you get is space. Real space. The kind where you can actually hear yourself think and the view opens up gradually as you climb rather than hitting you all at once. On a clear day you can pick out Dartmoor to the south and the landscape rolls away in that particular Devon way - green, rolling, criss-crossed with hedgerows. The summit itself isn't overly dramatic, but it's proper rewarding for the effort.

This works best for walkers and anyone after a solid leg-stretch without needing crampons and a head for heights. Families with kids who can manage a moderate hill will get their money's worth. It's not a destination where you'll spend hours, though - an afternoon's job really.

If you're basing yourself at Barley Meadow or Woodland Springs, both nearby, Buttern Hill makes a cracking afternoon break from park life. The walk's free, naturally, and there's nothing to book. Go when the weather's decent - all the views disappear in mist and there's nothing else up there to see.