Hailes Wood

The woodland around Hailes, just outside Tewkesbury, is proper walking country. Ancient oak and beech trees form a canopy thick enough to keep you cool even on warm days, and the forest floor - soft with years of fallen leaves - makes for easy going underfoot. You're looking at a solid hour or two of wandering depending on which paths you take, with enough woodland to lose the sense you're close to civilization at all.

Walkers will get the most from this. There's nothing flashy here - no visitor centre, no facilities, just trees and the occasional clearing where you can actually see what's around you. It's the sort of place you go when you want to breathe properly and think without distraction. Families with younger kids might find an hour enough before someone asks how much longer, though if your lot enjoy spotting wildlife and splashing through streams, you could easily fill an afternoon.

Access appears to be free, which is the way these things should be. Check locally in Tewkesbury for specific parking areas and paths - the woodland isn't signposted with the clarity you'd get at a managed country house. It pairs well with the nearby Cotswold Woodland Glamping at Aston Somerville if you want to base yourself nearby, or the Bourton-on-the-Water Caravan and Motorhome Club site a few miles south if you're after more structured facilities. Hailes Wood itself is best visited when it's been dry for a few days - the paths can get boggy after rain.