Girdlers Coppice Nature Reserve

You'll find Girdlers Coppice tucked away near Sturminster Newton - a proper little woodland reserve that punches above its weight. It's the sort of place where you actually get peace and quiet, which feels rarer by the day. The coppice is managed for wildlife, so you're walking through mixed woodland with the understanding that the trees and the creatures living here matter more than a manicured path.

The reserve works best for walkers who don't need everything signposted and explained. History buffs might appreciate that this is traditional coppice woodland - the sort that's been cut and regrown for centuries - but there's no visitor centre or heritage theatre, so you need to come with some curiosity already in your pocket. If you've got restless young kids, they'll manage an hour or so, but it's not a playground.

It's the kind of walk you'd slot in on a lazy afternoon when staying at one of the nearby glamping spots like Starlight or Gold Hill. Both are close enough that you could head out mid-morning, do Girdlers Coppice in your own time, then crack on elsewhere. Spring's when it really sings - bluebells and bird activity - but even in winter the structure of the woodland is worth seeing.

Free to access and no time limit, which is exactly how a nature reserve should be. Just bring decent boots and don't expect facilities. It's genuine, undeveloped woodland - and that's precisely the point.