Dunhams Wood

The woodland around Dunhams Wood near March is a proper escape from the flat Cambridgeshire countryside that surrounds it. Trees here actually create some verticality, which sounds daft until you've spent time in the Fens and realised how much sky can wear you down. The wood itself isn't vast - you're looking at a walk of an hour or so to see the best of it - but it's the kind of place where you notice things. Birdsong actually matters when there's nowhere else for your ears to go.

You'll want wellies from October onwards. The ground gets boggy and the paths can disappear under leaf litter, which is half the charm if you're the sort who finds wet socks character-building rather than a reason to complain. Families with young kids will get a decent afternoon here, though toddlers might struggle if the paths are churned up. Anyone after a proper forest walk will find it too small and too flat. For history types, there's not much obvious happening - no ruins, no monuments - just trees doing what they've done for generations.

If you're camped at Fenland Camping and Caravan Park just down the road, this makes an easy half-day expedition. It won't blow your mind, but it breaks up a caravan holiday sensibly. The nearest facilities and supplies are in March itself, which is a standard fenland market town - perfectly fine for tea and a pasty between walks.