Dozmary Pool

Head out across Bodmin Moor from Launceston and you'll find yourself at a proper wild stretch of water that feels properly isolated. Dozmary Pool isn't your chocolate-box lake - it's bleak, atmospheric, and strangely magnetic. The moorland around it rolls away in all directions with barely a structure in sight.

There's something about the place that gets under your skin. Local legend claims it's bottomless and connected to Arthurian mythology - apparently Bedivere threw Excalibur into these waters. Whether you buy that or not, the desolate beauty works. Walkers love it because the approach across open moor rewards effort. You won't find ice cream vans or seaside crowds here.

The walk itself is the main event - allow a couple of hours minimum if you're coming from the nearest car park, and bring proper boots. The ground's boggy in patches and the weather can turn quickly. It's free to visit, though there's no formal visitor infrastructure, which is part of its charm. Families with young kids might find it a bit bleak and the walk a slog, but teenagers and proper outdoor types will find it genuinely brilliant.

Stay at Ekopod or Trewithen Farm nearby and you've got something genuinely different from the usual seaside park experience. This is about solitude and moorland drama rather than facilities and entertainment schedules. Go on a clear day if you can - grey and drizzly is moody but clear gives you the proper sense of scale.