Low Ley Plantation

Low Ley Plantation sits just outside Halstead, a proper Essex woodland where you can actually breathe without hearing the motorway. It's a working forest rather than a manicured country estate - conifers mixed with older broadleaf trees, the kind of place where you'll find yourself on a path that's clearly been walked for decades but won't feel overcrowded on a Tuesday afternoon.

Walkers get the most from it. The woodland sits on gently rolling ground, so it's nothing strenuous, and there are enough criss-crossing tracks to keep you from retracing your steps if you don't fancy it. Families with primary-school age kids will find it engaging enough for an hour or two - plenty of sticks to collect, fallen logs to clamber on. Anyone older than eight will probably want more structure or a destination to aim for.

You're five minutes from Gosfield Lake Resort if you're camping nearby, or within easy reach of the other sites scattered around - Golden Grove and Stocks Farm are under five miles away. This isn't a headline attraction you'd plan a day around, but it's exactly the sort of place you'll slip into because you're staying locally and fancy a morning walk without faffing about with admission prices or crowds.

Bring decent boots. Essex clay holds onto water, and patches that look dry will catch you out. Spring's best, when there's actual space between the branches to see what you're walking through.