Cherry Knowle Hill

The walk up Cherry Knowle Hill from Peterlee takes about twenty minutes and rewards you with proper views across County Durham's coastline and inland stretches. It's not a dramatic climb - more a steady pull through farmland and moorland fringes - but the summit gives you real perspective on how the landscape opens out here.

This is walker's terrain, straightforward and uncluttered. You get a sense of the industrial heritage below - the old colliery workings have shaped what you see - but what catches you is the openness of it all. On a clear day you can pick out the coast. The hill itself is modest in height but it punches above its weight for views.

Families with kids aged eight upwards will find it manageable, though younger ones might find the walk a bit samey. There's not much at the summit itself - no cafe, no gift shop, just the view and some benches if you're lucky. That's actually the point. History buffs will get something from understanding the mining legacy visible in the terrain below, but you're here for the walking and the vantage point, not interpretation boards.

If you're staying at The Barn at Easington for a holiday, this fits naturally into a morning's outing. Allow an hour there and back with time to pause at the top. Go when the weather's settled - moorland views collapse into nothing in low cloud, and there's wind exposure up there. Free to visit and no booking needed.