Herrington Country Park

The old colliery workings at Herrington have been transformed into something genuinely worth a afternoon out from Durham. What you're looking at now is 127 acres of reclaimed land where pit heads once dominated the skyline - the park rises and dips across former mining terraces, creating proper dramatic topography for somewhere that was industrial wasteland not so long ago.

Walkers will find the most value here. The terrain naturally lends itself to rambling, and the views across the Durham countryside are decent, especially on clearer days. The site itself is free to explore, which makes it an easy call when you're staying at one of the nearby caravan parks like Finchale Abbey or Durham Grange - it's close enough for a morning walk before heading elsewhere, but substantial enough that you won't feel shortchanged if you spend a couple of hours properly exploring.

Historically minded types will get a kick out of spotting remnants of the old colliery infrastructure if they know what they're looking for. It's not a museum - there's minimal interpretation on the ground - but the bones of what was here are still visible if you're paying attention. Families with younger kids might find it a bit of a trudge after an hour, though the open spaces do allow them room to burn off energy.

The best approach is treating it as part of a wider Durham walk, not a destination in itself. It works brilliantly as a leg of a longer route that takes in the river valleys nearby. Go when the ground's dry - it can get muddy after rain.