Keynsham Memorial Park

Walk five minutes from Keynsham town centre and you'll find yourself in a proper green space that catches most visitors off guard. The memorial park is genuinely spacious - twenty-odd acres of woodland, grassland, and water features that feel genuinely wild rather than manicured.

There's a lake that's actually worth stopping at. It's shallow enough that you can see what's living in it, and in spring the margins fill with frogs. The walking trails are straightforward, well-trodden paths through mixed woodland where you'll spot the occasional heron if you're patient. The memorial aspect is understated - a few plaques dotted about, nothing heavy-handed.

It's the sort of place that works brilliantly if you're staying at somewhere like Bath Mill Lodge Retreat, just four miles away. You get genuine countryside without the fuss of a proper nature reserve with entry fees and visitor centres. Families with younger kids will have them occupied for an hour pottering about the lake edge and exploring the wooded sections. Older walkers appreciate it as a quick leg-stretcher between Bath itself and the wider Somerset landscape.

The park sits just outside Bath, so if you're based in the city for a few days, this saves you driving elsewhere. Go in the morning when it's quieter and the light's better through the trees. It won't blow your mind, but it's genuinely pleasant and free, which makes it rather good value. Bring binoculars if you're into birds - the lake attracts more species than you'd expect for somewhere this close to a town.