Lovecotes Hill

Lovecotes Hill doesn't announce itself - there's no visitor centre, no café, no crowds. What you get instead is a proper Essex high point with views that stretch across the rolling countryside towards Dunmow and beyond. It's the sort of place locals know about and outsiders often miss.

The walk up is straightforward rather than strenuous. From the base, you're looking at maybe twenty minutes to reach the summit, passing through farmland and the kind of gentle woodland that defines this part of Essex. Once you're up there, the vista opens out - fields falling away in all directions, and on a clear day you can see quite far across the county. It's not dramatic or Alpine, but it's genuinely worth the effort.

Families with kids will find it accessible enough, though there's nothing to do once you're at the top except look around and perhaps unpack a sandwich. Walkers heading out from Dunmow tend to build it into a longer ramble rather than make it a destination in itself. History buffs won't find much to grip onto here - it's more about the landscape than any particular story.

If you're based at Dairymeade Farm Glamping or Hidden Gem Glamping nearby, both within easy driving distance, it makes a decent morning outing before returning for lunch. No facilities at all on the hill itself, so bring water. Free to visit, naturally. Go when the weather's clear - on a grey day it loses its appeal fast.