Leen Valley Golf Course

The Leen Valley course sits just outside Nottingham and delivers the kind of golf that doesn't require you to be brilliant - it welcomes all standards. Eighteen holes wind through decent parkland with enough character to keep your round interesting without punishing wild shots too harshly. The layout flows well, and you get proper views across the valley that remind you why the Midlands can be rather nice when you're not stuck on the M1.

This is fundamentally a local course, and that's no bad thing. You'll share the fairways with members who know every blade of grass, but visitors are welcome and the pace is generally steady. The greens demand respect without being pretentious about it. Golf to a decent standard, not championship theatre.

Given its proximity to Nottingham, Leen Valley works brilliantly as part of a wider break rather than a destination in itself. If you're staying at Fairview Farm Log Cabins - just four miles away - or Lurcher Farm further out, you can easily slip over for a morning or afternoon round without disrupting the rest of your holiday. The course is accessible enough that keen amateur golfers will actually enjoy themselves rather than spend five hours cursing their swing.

Book ahead, especially weekends. Exact admission costs and opening times vary, so ring ahead before you drive over. Reckon on four hours minimum. Bring decent shoes - it's proper parkland and can get soft underfoot.