Chester Green

The meadows at Chester Green are a proper working landscape rather than the manicured nature reserves you might expect. Wild flowers take over come summer - ox-eye daisy, buttercup, bird's-foot trefoil - which means the insects follow. You'll see plenty of butterflies if you time it right, and the place draws serious birdwatchers looking for skylarks and lapwing.

It's a straightforward spot, honest. No visitor centre, no facilities to speak of. Just open grassland with a footpath running through it, roughly 20 minutes from Derby town centre, which makes it an easy half-hour detour if you're passing. The walk itself takes 45 minutes to an hour depending on how often you stop to look at things.

Walkers will get more from it than kids under ten, if I'm being frank. There's no drama here - no water features, no playground, nothing to run about on. But if you've got teenagers interested in ecology, or you simply want a quiet morning spotting birds and wildflowers without the crowds, it works well. Spring and early summer are your best bets.

If you're staying at Hill Farm Camping up the road, Chester Green makes a gentle morning activity before heading elsewhere. The Derbyshire Peak District's not far either, so you could easily combine this with something more ambitious. It's not a destination in itself, but as part of a park-based holiday, it's worth the short drive.