Oxpasture Copse

A proper woodland walk through ancient Sussex forest, Oxpasture Copse is the sort of place where you can actually hear yourself think. The trees are old - seriously old in places - and the paths wind through dense cover that blocks out most of the outside world. It's genuinely quiet here, which is rare enough to be worth the drive from Dorking.

Walking through it takes about an hour depending on how lost you get (the paths aren't massively well-marked). The ground's often soft underfoot, sometimes boggy in winter, so proper shoes matter. You're looking at a fairly intimate woodland experience rather than sweeping views - if you want drama, head elsewhere. But if you want to feel like you've stepped back into how Sussex looked before someone built houses everywhere, this does the job.

Historically-minded visitors will appreciate it's the kind of landscape that's been here for centuries, though there's not much in the way of interpretation or attractions as such. No cafe, no facilities, just trees and birdsong. Families with young kids might find it a bit samey after thirty minutes - there's nothing to scramble on or discover in quite the way a more varied woodland does.

If you're based at Sands Farm Weekend Camping just four miles away, it's a solid morning out without eating half your day. Free to access, naturally. Go when it's been dry though - after rain, it becomes more of a squelch.