Fox Hill

The walk up Fox Hill rewards you with one of the best views across the Hertfordshire plains - on a clear day you can see for miles. It's not a dramatic peak by any means, but that's rather the point. This is proper English countryside, the kind where the horizon stretches endlessly and you actually understand why people settle here.

The climb itself takes about twenty minutes from Royston, and it's gentle enough that older kids won't complain too much. The grassy slopes are open and exposed, so pick a day without gale-force winds unless you fancy being blown sideways. There's a trig point at the top where walkers tend to pause and actually look around rather than just photograph their feet.

Walking groups and Sunday-afternoon ramblers make up most of the visitors. It's the sort of hill you'd visit as part of a longer route rather than a standalone trip - the town of Royston is close enough that you could combine it with a pub lunch or a poke around the local shops. If you're staying at Church Farm near Ardeley, Fox Hill makes a solid half-day excursion that doesn't require special kit or endless driving.

The real appeal is the space and the quietness. You won't find souvenir shops or visitor centres here, just open ground and sky. Go early morning if you want to avoid the weekend walkers, though frankly there aren't many of those.