Dun's Pike

The walk up Dun's Pike rewards you with proper views across the Tyne Valley, especially on clearer days when you can see for miles. It's a modest peak by most standards - nothing that'll leave you gasping for breath - but the climb is steep enough to feel like you've earned the summit.

You're looking at roughly an hour's walk from the nearest access point, depending on fitness and how many times you stop to admire the moorland. The landscape shifts from farmland to open fell, and the paths are reasonably well-trodden. Walkers will appreciate the straightforward route and the solitude you often find up here - it's not packed with day-trippers the way some honeypots are.

Historically it's worth noting there's been human activity in these hills for centuries, though what remains is mostly in the landscape itself. Families with older children will manage it fine; younger ones might find the walk itself more interesting than the destination. The Hexham area gives you plenty of other options if the weather turns.

Free to visit, naturally, and no set hours to worry about. If you're camped at one of the local sites - Demesne Farm or Bellingham are both reasonably close - it makes a solid morning or early afternoon excursion. Go when it's clear; in mist it's just a walk uphill into nothing much.