North Wood

Walk into North Wood and you're immediately swallowed by proper old-growth forest - the kind where sunlight struggles to reach the woodland floor. It's located just outside Malvern, making it an easy escape from the town's genteel tea rooms and Victorian architecture.

This isn't a manicured visitor attraction with signboards and benches. It's a genuine working woodland where you can lose yourself among beech and oak for an hour or two. The paths are decent enough, though muddy sections are inevitable even in dry spells. Bring proper boots.

Walkers will get the most from it - families with young children might find the lack of facilities and defined trails a bit frustrating, but teenagers who actually want to go off the beaten track will enjoy the freedom of it. History buffs should know this woodland has been around in some form for centuries, though you won't find interpretive panels spelling that out.

Allow 90 minutes to two hours depending on how far you venture in. It's free, naturally, and best visited when it's not been raining for a week solid - the ground dries surprisingly quickly despite the canopy density.

If you're based at Malvern View holiday park nearby, North Wood makes a solid morning or afternoon walk before heading back for food. It's the sort of place that reminds you why you came to Herefordshire in the first place, rather than the usual tourist circuit. Don't expect a destination - expect a proper forest.