Forest Hill Plantation

The woodland around Forest Hill, just outside Mansfield, offers a proper escape into Nottinghamshire's quieter side - away from the Sherwood Forest crowds that pull in coachloads from across the Midlands. It's mixed forestry, the kind of place where you'll find yourself on narrow paths between conifers and deciduous trees, with the occasional clearing that catches better light than you'd expect. Walking here takes between one and three hours depending on which trails you fancy, and it's genuinely peaceful.

This works brilliantly if you're based at one of the nearby parks - Sherwood Forest Holiday Park sits just 1.4 miles away, so you could easily slip out for a morning ramble without committing to a full day's outing. It's the sort of woodland that appeals to people who want to walk without the heritage site experience - no visitor centre, no Robin Hood merchandise, just trees and paths. Families with reasonably confident walkers will do fine here; younger kids might find it a bit samey after forty minutes.

Admission appears to be free, which frankly is the only sensible way to run a working forest. Go early in the day if you can - the light's better and you'll have more chance of spotting wildlife. It's far less manicured than you might expect from somewhere this close to Mansfield, which is exactly why it's worth a visit if you're already staying in the area. The real value is in spending an hour or two actually in the woods rather than reading about them.