Owday Wood

The woodland around Owday, just outside Worksop, is proper forest walking territory - the kind of place where you actually feel like you've left the world behind rather than just stepped into a park. Ancient oaks and dense undergrowth make it genuinely atmospheric, especially on grey Nottinghamshire afternoons when the light filters through the canopy in strips. You'll be doing proper woodland rambling here, not a manicured stroll. Bring decent boots.

For families with older kids or serious walkers, this scratches an itch you don't get in more managed spaces. The paths can be muddy and uneven - which is exactly the point. There's no visitor centre, no facilities, no interpretive boards telling you what tree is what. Just woodland as it is.

You're only a few miles from the bigger attractions - Clumber Park with its lodges and grand estate lies just 5.9 miles south, so Owday works well as a quieter alternative if you want to stretch your legs without joining crowds. The caravan parks near Worksop put you within easy reach for a morning woodland circuit before heading to Clumber's lakes or gardens later.

Allow a couple of hours for a decent walk depending on your fitness and which routes you take. There's no entrance fee that we can find - it's the kind of accessible woodland that's been there for centuries and remains free to use. Go when it's been dry; after rain it becomes seriously boggy in places.