Dunley Hill Row

The woodland around Dunley Hill Row offers proper walking territory if you're staying near Newbury and fancy stretching your legs without faffing about on a motorway. It's not a destination in itself - there's no visitor centre or marked trails that I could find - but if you're staying at Hollington Park Glamping just down the road, it's worth knowing about.

What you get here is straightforward Hampshire forest: beech and oak mostly, quiet enough that you might actually hear birdsong, which is increasingly rare. The terrain's undulating rather than dramatic, and walking paths thread through without much fanfare. On a clear day you can sense the landscape rolling away, but it won't stop you in your tracks.

Realistically, this suits walkers who want a couple of hours in the woods without needing a destination or a café at the end. Families with young kids might find it a bit samey after the first half-hour - there's no water feature or obvious focal point to aim for. Keen naturalists could spend longer poking about, and cyclists using forest tracks could find decent routes if they know what they're doing.

Being free and unstaffed (as far as I can tell), you just turn up. Best in autumn when the canopy thins and the light's lovely. Don't expect facilities - bring what you need. From Hollington Park Glamping, it's barely a 10-minute drive, which makes it handy for breaking up a holiday without going far.