National Trust - The White Cliffs of Dover

Those white cliffs you've seen in a thousand postcards? They're actually worth the trip. Standing at the edge of the English Channel near Dover, they rise 350 feet sheer from the water - proper dramatic stuff. The National Trust maintains the clifftop paths here, and you get proper views across to France on a clear day. The chalk faces are blindingly white in sunshine, which is why they've mattered so much to British history - early sailors navigating home would spot them from miles out.

Walking along the cliff edge takes between one and three hours depending on how far you push, and the paths are generally well-maintained though they can get muddy after rain. The real payoff is the perspective - you're standing on the same spot where centuries of arrivals first glimpsed England. It's not a place to spend all day unless you're a serious geology type, but an afternoon walk clears the head brilliantly.

Bring proper shoes - the paths are uneven in places and can be slippery. The visitor centre at the top has the basics: toilets, a café, information about the chalk geology. Admission to the clifftop is free, though parking costs a few quid. If you're staying at Parkdean Resorts at St Margaret's Bay or any of the other holiday parks scattered around this coast, the cliffs are minutes away. Winter visits are brilliant too - fewer crowds, dramatic grey skies, that proper windswept English feeling.