Crown Lakes Country Park

The lakes here are genuinely tranquil. Crown Lakes Country Park sits just outside Peterborough and feels properly removed from the town despite being minutes away. It's a nature reserve centred around a series of gravel pit lakes that have been left to their own devices long enough to attract serious numbers of birds and dragonflies.

Walking the perimeter paths is straightforward enough - nothing demanding, just steady tracks that loop around the water. The appeal is simple: find a quiet spot, watch for kingfishers or herons, and listen to the water lap against the banks. Birdwatchers will get hours out of this place. Families with younger kids might manage an hour or so before the novelty of "looking at a lake" wears thin, though there's something meditative about it if you let yourself slow down.

Bring binoculars. Seriously. The difference between squinting at silhouettes and actually seeing what's there is substantial. Spring and autumn migrations are the obvious peak times, but it's worth a visit whenever the light is halfway decent.

If you're staying at Ferry Meadows Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite - which is just three miles away and comes highly rated - Crown Lakes makes a cracking morning walk before heading to wherever you're spending the afternoon. It's the sort of place that asks nothing of you except time and a willingness to notice small things. That's either exactly what you're after or not worth the detour.