Clodmore Hill

The walk up Clodmore Hill isn't going to tax you - it's Essex, after all, not the Lake District - but that's rather the point. The summit sits just outside Royston and gives you proper views across the flat countryside that makes this corner of East Anglia tick. On a clear day you can actually see for miles, which in a landscape this open feels like a genuine achievement.

It's an easy ramble, maybe twenty minutes up from the car park depending on fitness, and the kind of walk that works brilliantly for families who don't fancy anything too strenuous. Kids won't get bored on the ascent itself - the slope's gentle enough to keep them moving without complaints - and there's a genuine sense of getting somewhere once you reach the top. The views aren't dramatic, but they're honest, and that counts for something.

Walkers heading through the region will appreciate it as a proper leg-stretcher between other stops. Royston itself has a few decent pubs, so you can make an afternoon of it. If you're based at Pightle Farm Campsite just 3.7 miles away, this is absolutely worth an hour's detour. Free to access, naturally - there's no gate or keeper here, just open Essex countryside doing what it does best. Go mid-morning to dodge the weekend crowds, even though crowds round here are relative.