Great Copse

Great Copse is a proper woodland walk just outside Dorking, the kind of place that rewards a slow morning with decent boots and no particular agenda. You're moving through dense forest here - oak, beech, the works - with paths that wind through the sort of undergrowth that makes you feel genuinely away from things, even though civilization's only a few miles off.

The walk itself takes anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours depending on how many diversions you fancy. There's no dramatic viewpoint or heritage plaque to chase, so this one's for people who actually like woods rather than those hunting for Instagram angles. Families with older kids do well here; younger ones might find it bit samey after the first twenty minutes. The forest floor is soft underfoot, which sounds nice until it rains and everything turns to mud.

It's free to access, naturally - you're just walking into woodland - and there's informal parking nearby. Early autumn is best, when the light gets proper golden and the place feels less sticky. Summer crowds it out a bit. Winter's fine too if you don't mind the damp.

If you're camping at Sands Farm just down the road, Great Copse makes a solid morning outing before heading back for a proper breakfast. It won't take your whole day, but that's rather the point. Sometimes a good wood is enough.