Gleneagles park

Gleneagles sits just outside Hull as a proper woodland escape, the sort of place you'd walk through without quite realising you've wandered into a nature reserve until the trees close in properly. It's a working woodland with clear paths, plenty of open glades, and enough space to actually breathe without bumping into crowds. The paths are well-maintained and manageable for most abilities, though it's not flat - there's a bit of undulation that keeps things interesting.

Walkers will find this one genuinely worthwhile, especially if you're basing yourself at Burton Constable Holiday Park just four miles away. That site has its own arboretum, so if you're combining the two you're looking at a solid day of woodland wandering without monotony. The reserve is free to access and you can spend anything from forty minutes for a quick circuit to a couple of hours if you explore properly.

Bring the family if you've got young ones who like climbing fallen logs and spotting birds - it's the kind of unstructured woodland that kids either love immediately or find dull after half an hour, depending on their temperament. No facilities to speak of, so come prepared with water and snacks. Visit in autumn when the canopy turns properly golden, or spring when the ground cover's alive. Summer gets a bit muggy under all that tree cover, and winter mud can be biblical.