Kolora Park

Kolora Park sits just outside Newton Abbot as a proper nature reserve, the kind of place that rewards a quiet morning walk far more than it rewards Instagram scrolling. The reserve spans woodland and open grassland where you're genuinely likely to spot birds - buzzards circle overhead regularly, and if you're lucky the woodland rings with woodpecker calls. There's a network of paths threading through the site, none of them gruelling, so families with younger children won't spend half the day on a single trail.

Walkers and birdwatchers will get the most from Kolora. The grassland sections open up nicely for photography, and the mix of habitats means you're seeing different species depending on season and time of day. It's free admission, which takes the pressure off - you're not paying for a manicured experience, you're just wandering through something living and reasonably well-managed.

Allow a couple of hours if you're taking the longer loop, though you can easily do a quick 45-minute circuit if you're pressed. Spring and early summer are exceptional for bird activity. Winter's quieter but the woodlands have their own appeal when the canopy thins.

It slots neatly alongside a stay at Sunsets & Marshmallows, the glamping site a few miles away. Use Kolora for your morning constitutional while the weather's decent, then let the kids run off steam in more open terrain. It's unpretentious and honest - which is rather the point of a nature reserve.