Jubilee Plantation

A proper forest walk rather than a visitor attraction with car parks and gift shops, Jubilee Plantation sprawls across moorland just outside Wigton in Cumbria. It's the kind of place you need to know about before you arrive - ordnance survey map in hand, wellies on your feet, realistic expectations about facilities.

The plantation itself is mixed woodland, planted decades ago, offering shelter from the Lakeland wind and decent walks through the trees. On a clear day you'll get views across to the fells. On a grey one - and there are plenty of those in this corner of Cumbria - it's just a pleasant plod through green. Expect muddy paths in winter, dappled shade in summer, and the kind of quiet you actually can't get in the popular tourist forests.

Walkers will get the most from this. Families with young children might find it a bit rough around the edges, though older kids who'll entertain themselves counting birds or building dens will be happy. It's free to access, no question of payment, and you can spend anywhere from forty minutes to a couple of hours depending on which routes you take.

If you're based at one of the nearby parks - Carrock Glamping Pods or Riverside Tourer Park are closest - it's worth a morning visit on a quieter day rather than as your main event. Combine it with a walk up Caldbeck fell or a coffee in Wigton itself. Don't come expecting manicured trails or interpretation boards. Come for the actual forest.