Crowtrees Local Nature Reserve

A strip of woodland and grassland on the outskirts of Durham that's genuinely worth a morning walk if you're staying at Woodside Ridge or any of the nearby caravan parks. Crowtrees is a proper local nature reserve - nothing fancy, no visitor centre or car park attendant - just a patch of North East countryside that's been left to do its thing.

You'll find woodland trails threading through mixed trees, open grassland that comes alive with wildflowers in spring and early summer, and the sort of quiet you don't get in town. Birdwatchers come for the woodland species, and there are amphibians in the wetter bits if you know where to look. The whole thing is only a couple of miles from Durham itself, so it's ideal if you want to stretch your legs without driving far from Castledene Holiday Park or Donnewell Farm.

Allow 60 to 90 minutes for a decent walk round. It's free, and there are no formal opening hours - you just turn up. Go in late spring or summer when the grass is long and the place actually feels alive. Winter's bit dreary, if I'm honest.

Families with older kids who don't need constant entertainment will get on fine here. Toddlers might find it a slog. It's the sort of place you visit as part of a broader Durham trip - pair it with a walk round the cathedral and a pint in town, not as a destination in itself. But if you're camped nearby and the weather's decent, it's a proper tonic.