Catspaw Picnic site

The car park at Catspaw sits just outside Alnwick, tucked into the sort of spot where Northumberland stops being tidy and starts getting wild. It's the gateway to proper walking country - trails fan out from here into the Cheviot foothills, and you can see why locals favour it. There's a picnic area with the basics: a handful of tables, bin, somewhere to stretch your legs before heading into the hills proper.

This is walker territory, genuinely. If you're after a quick scenic stop with a sandwich, you'll manage an hour easily enough. But the real value here is as a jumping-off point for longer rambles into the Breamish Valley. The terrain's open moorland and grassland - nothing dramatic, but honest and good for clearing your head. Families with little ones might find it a bit austere; there's not much to hold their attention beyond the tables themselves.

Timing-wise, spring through early autumn works best. Winter and wet weather turn the parking area into a quagmire, and the exposed walks lose their appeal fast. The site appears to be free, which makes sense for what's essentially a rural car park with amenities.

If you're based at one of the nearby caravan parks - River Breamish is three miles away and excellent - Catspaw works perfectly as a morning excursion. Grab coffee in Alnwick first, park up here, walk for a couple of hours, back for lunch. It's not a destination in itself, but it's the sort of practical, no-fuss spot that makes a proper holiday in the Borders actually work.