Dave's shed

Someone's actually turned their garden shed into a proper nature reserve, which is either genius or mad - probably both. Dave's Shed sits just outside Taunton and operates on the sort of scale that makes you wonder how much wildlife can genuinely fit into what started as a bloke's weekend project.

It's the kind of place where the appeal lies entirely in lowered expectations. You're not getting manicured grounds or information boards every ten metres. What you get instead are actual creatures - birds, insects, maybe a hedgehog if you're lucky - in a space that someone clearly cares about enough to keep it going. The whole setup works precisely because it hasn't been turned into a tourist attraction with a gift shop and laminated trail maps.

Walkers and nature enthusiasts will find it worth a detour, particularly if you're staying at Waterrow Touring Park five miles away. It's the sort of thing to visit when you've got an hour to kill and want something low-key between bigger days out. Not for those after a structured experience or lengthy interpretive panels - Dave's doesn't do visitor facilities the conventional way.

The real question is whether it's open when you want to visit. Details are thin on the ground, so ringing ahead from Taunton first makes sense. But if the gates are open and you find yourself nearby, the whole thing has genuine charm precisely because it feels like you've stumbled onto someone's passion project rather than a polished attraction.