Peckham Grove

Peckham Grove is a proper Sussex woodland tucked away near Patching, the sort of place locals know but visitors tend to miss. It's a mixed forest - decent walking territory with trails that weave through beech and oak, nothing dramatic but solid enough for an afternoon ramble.

You'll find it genuinely quiet, which is half the appeal. There's no visitor centre or facilities to speak of, so go in with realistic expectations. It's the kind of walk where you're actually alone with the trees, not jostling past crowds of Instagram hunters. The forest floor changes seasonally - proper carpet of bluebells in spring if you time it right, mushrooms and fungi everywhere come autumn.

Walkers will get the most from this. Families with young kids might find it a bit thin on attractions - there's no playground or cafe to break up the experience - but older children who don't mind a proper woodland walk will be fine. Dog walkers clearly rate it, judging by the well-worn paths.

If you're camping at one of the nearby parks - Washington is closest at 3.4 miles, though Cattlestone or Fox Wood work just as well - Peckham Grove makes for an easy morning's excursion. Nothing earth-shattering, but it fills a gap between the caravan site and the South Downs. Free to access, no booking needed. Allow two hours maximum unless you're stopping to identify every tree.