Marble Hill Park

The grass slopes down toward the river with barely a soul about, which is precisely why Marble Hill works so well if you're based at Walton on Thames Camping and Caravanning Club Site and need to escape the caravan park bustle. It's a proper riverside nature reserve just outside Chessington - nothing fancy, just 66 acres of meadow, woodland and riverbank that actually feels like you've stepped away from Surrey's usual manicured gardens.

You can wander along the Thames Path here, and if you're into spotting things the wetland areas attract birds and dragonflies in summer. The meadows are left to grow wild in patches, which means wildflowers if you time it right - May through July is when it's worth the trip. The woodland's decent for a ramble too, nothing too demanding.

It's the sort of place where walkers and families with older kids will get a solid hour or two of fresh air without the circus you'd find at somewhere bigger. The riverside sections are lovely for standing still and actually hearing water instead of traffic. Free to access, so there's no pressure to justify the journey if you're only up for half an hour.

From the caravan site you're looking at a short drive in, and it slots nicely into a day if you're combining it with Chessington town or one of the other local green spaces. Not a destination in itself, but a proper find for anyone camped nearby who wants to step into something genuinely quiet.