Collygrove Copse

A thick woodland patch just outside Alresford, Collygrove Copse is the sort of place you stumble into rather than plan a morning around. Ancient beech and oak crowd together here, creating that proper deep-forest feeling even though you're barely a few miles from civilisation. The floor is soft with leaf litter and moss - good news for your boots, less good if you're after dramatic vistas.

It's really a walker's spot rather than a destination in itself. You won't find facilities, and there's no visitor centre or café, which is either refreshingly honest or a mild letdown depending on your mood. The paths wind through fairly densely, so it rewards a slow meander rather than a rushed march through. Twenty minutes to an hour does it, depending on how much you want to poke about.

Historians might find something in the old tree-planting patterns, though you'd need local knowledge to spot it. Kids will either love the scrambling and leaf-hunting or get bored quickly - there's no playground energy here, just trees. Best visited as part of a broader walk, really, combining it with a pub lunch in Alresford proper rather than banking the whole afternoon on this one spot.

If you're staying nearby - Beechen Glamping sits just 3.5 miles away - it's a gentle morning's outing before decamping elsewhere. The Spinney Caravan Park is also within reach. Go for the walk, not the destination.