Jodrell Bank Arboretum

The arboretum at Jodrell Bank sits just outside Macclesfield and makes for a genuinely good afternoon out if you're staying at one of the nearby caravan parks - Royal Vale or Woodlands are both close by. It's the sort of place where you can wander for hours without rushing, following woodland paths between specimen trees collected from across the globe. The whole thing works nicely because it's not trying to be something it isn't. You won't find manicured flower beds or themed gardens here - just trees. Proper trees, old trees, the kind that make you actually look up.

Families with young kids will get bored after an hour, to be honest. Teenagers might enjoy spotting rare species if they're into that sort of thing, but it's really for the walkers and the people who genuinely care about understanding what grows where and why. The paths are manageable most of the time, though it can be muddy in winter. Allow at least two hours if you're doing it properly, longer if you're stopping to read the labels and take photographs.

It's free to enter, which is brilliant, and it pairs well with a caravan holiday in Cheshire where you want to break up the days without spending much. The site has links to the famous radio telescope nearby too, if astronomy interests you - that's a separate attraction but worth knowing about. Go when the weather's decent because there's limited shelter, and frankly the trees look better in full light anyway.