Long Shrubbery

The woodland walk through Long Shrubbery is a proper leg-stretcher, especially if you've been cooped up at Great Farm holiday park five miles down the road. It's Gloucestershire woodland at its straightforward best - dense trees, quiet paths, the occasional burst of light through the canopy. Nothing dramatic, but that's exactly the point.

You'll find yourself walking between mature oaks and birches, with the sort of damp-earth smell that makes you remember why you came to the countryside in the first place. The paths are well-trodden but can get muddy after rain, so proper boots make sense. It's the kind of place where you lose phone signal almost immediately, which some will find brilliant and others slightly unsettling.

Families with younger children might find it a bit thin on attractions - there's no visitor centre, no information boards, no ice cream van waiting at the end. But teenagers and proper walkers will appreciate the straightforwardness of it. You're here to walk among trees, not to be entertained by them.

Nearer Faringdon than you might expect, it slots neatly into a Gloucestershire woodland crawl. Allow 90 minutes if you want to properly explore, less if you're just wanting a quick circuit. There's no entry fee to speak of - this is access-as-you-find-it territory. Best visited on a crisp autumn morning when the leaf drop's spectacular, or late spring when the woodland floor's carpeted in bluebells. Summer can feel a bit oppressive under the canopy.