Milton Hill

The walk up Milton Hill from Pewsey takes about twenty minutes if you're not dawdling, and the effort pays off with proper views across the Vale of Pewsey. It's a modest summit - nothing dramatic - but that's rather the point. You get to the top and suddenly the landscape spreads out below you in a way that makes the gentle climb feel worthwhile.

The hill itself is chalk downland, the kind of place where the grass is short and springy underfoot, and on a clear day you can see across to Milk Hill and the surrounding Wiltshire ridges. There's a Bronze Age barrow up here too, though honestly it's not the sort of thing that jumps out at you - more of a gentle swelling in the ground if you know what you're looking for. History types will appreciate the archaeology; walkers will just enjoy the stride.

It's free, obviously, and you can do it in an afternoon without any fuss. Best in spring or early autumn when the chalk grassland flowers and the light isn't too harsh. Midwinter can be bleak and muddy, which some find atmospheric and others find a bit grim. Families with older kids will manage it fine; younger ones might grumble about the walk back down.

If you're camping at Totteridge Farm just two miles away or Hillview Park slightly further out, Milton Hill makes a cracking morning or evening excursion. It's the sort of walk that takes the edge off a campsite day without eating up your whole schedule.