Cissbury Ring

The walk up Cissbury Ring, just inland from Pulborough, rewards you with one of those South Downs views that makes the climb entirely worthwhile. It's an Iron Age hill fort, so you're walking inside ancient ramparts - proper stuff, with two concentric rings of ditches that are still clearly visible after two thousand years. The summit sits at around 600 feet, which means huffing a bit on the way up, but nothing that'll stop most reasonably fit walkers.

Once you're up there, the views sweep across the Weald in one direction and toward the coast in the other. On a clear day it's genuinely stunning. The walk itself takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour depending on your pace and how often you stop to catch your breath or gawp at the landscape. It's free to visit - no gates, no barriers - and you can walk it any time.

Families with older kids will find it engaging; the fort's history gives it more substance than a simple hill walk, and there's usually something to spot - earthworks, maybe some archaeology students having a poke about. Younger children might find the trudge tedious unless they're properly into walking. History buffs will appreciate that you're literally standing where Iron Age communities once defended their territory.

If you're based at one of the caravan parks near Pulborough - Washington or The Barn are closest - this makes a proper morning or afternoon out without needing to go far. Pair it with a wander around Pulborough itself and you've got a decent day sorted.