Caer Estyn Hillfort

The Iron Age ramparts at Caer Estyn are spread across a hilltop near Chester, Wales, and they're genuinely impressive if you're the sort who likes reading the landscape. You're looking at two concentric rings of earthworks - defensive ditches and banks that would have held a proper settlement two thousand years back. Walk the perimeter and you get decent views across Flintshire, though the site itself won't take more than forty minutes to explore properly.

It's absolutely free and open year-round, which is the best kind of archaeology. There's no visitor centre or interpretation boards, so come prepared to use your imagination a bit. Walkers and history types will find it worthwhile; families with small children might find it feels like a lot of walking for lumps in the grass. The ramparts are well-defined though, which helps.

The real draw is how it sits within easy reach of the Wirral and North Wales countryside. Both Willow Farm Glamping and Honeypot Hideaways are barely two miles away, making this a sensible half-morning stop if you're based at either site. Pair it with a walk around the quieter parts of the Deeside area - you're close enough to Chester for a proper day out, but far enough north that you escape the worst of the tourists. Spring and autumn are ideal, when the grass is manageable underfoot and the views aren't lost in summer haze.