Octavia Hill Memorial Seat

You'll find a modest stone seat perched on Box Hill, just outside Guildford, dedicated to Octavia Hill - the Victorian social reformer who co-founded the National Trust. It's not much to look at, frankly. A simple memorial carved with her name, the kind of thing you might walk straight past if you weren't looking for it. But that's rather the point.

The real appeal is the walk up to it and the views once you're there. Box Hill itself is proper walking territory - chalk downland with decent tracks that get busy on weekends but manageable mid-week. From the seat, you get sweeping views across the Weald toward Dorking. On a clear day it's worth the effort. On a grey one, less so.

History types will appreciate the Octavia Hill connection. She was doing social housing and land preservation before it became fashionable, and the National Trust owes her everything. But you don't need to know any of that to enjoy the spot - it works just as well as a rest point on a longer Box Hill ramble.

Allow an hour round trip from the car park if you're going straight to the seat, longer if you're exploring the wider Hill. It's free, obviously. Combine it with Glamping Holiday or Care Ashore Campsite if you're basing yourselves locally - both are within easy reach for a half-day outing. Families with confident walkers will get something from it; small children will find it a bit underwhelming.