Dale Wood

Walking into Dale Wood near Atherstone, you're met with proper mature woodland - the kind where the canopy shuts out most of the sky and the ground stays damp even weeks after rain. It's not a manicured forest park with visitor centres and marked trails, just straightforward woodland that rewards a bit of poking about.

The wood works best for anyone who actually enjoys being among trees rather than someone wanting Instagram moments. Families with older kids will get on fine here - there's enough space to let them loose, and the paths are manageable without being boring. History types might appreciate that this is old Warwickshire woodland, though there's not a heap of signage telling you about it.

You won't need more than an hour or two unless you're stopping to sit and sketch or spot birds. Come in spring when the bluebells are doing their thing, or autumn when the light filters through differently. Summer gets a bit thick and humid under those trees.

It's a solid addition to a longer day out in the area. Nightingales Rustic Camping sits just four miles away, so if you're staying there, Dale Wood gives you somewhere decent to walk without driving off the park. It's the sort of place that works because it doesn't try too hard - just woodland doing what woodland does.