Chancegrove Wood

The woodland floor here is thick with moss and leaf litter, the kind that muffles your footsteps and makes the whole place feel properly quiet. Chancegrove Wood sits just outside South Brent in Devon, a genuine working forest rather than a manicured nature reserve, which means it has that real, lived-in feel you don't always get.

You're walking through mixed woodland - oak, beech, conifers - with paths that wind through without much fanfare. It's the sort of place where you might spot a deer if you're lucky and quiet enough, though honestly most visits you'll just hear birds and the occasional snap of a branch underfoot. There's no visitor centre, no café, no crowds. Some people love that. Others find it a bit too undeveloped.

Walkers get the most from it. The paths are decent enough for a proper leg-stretch, and it connects well with the wider South Brent area if you're doing a longer day out. Kids will have fun in here if they're the exploring type, though there's nothing specifically laid on for them - no play areas or marked family routes. Bring a wellies on the wetter months because the woodland floor can be boggy.

Best visited in spring or early autumn when the light filters through properly and you're not battling with summer heat or winter mud. It's free to access and you can spend a couple of hours here easily.

If you're basing yourself at Ashbourne Woods, the nearby holiday park, this makes a solid morning walk before heading elsewhere in Devon.