Penhale Covert

You'll find yourself walking into proper woodland about six miles from Mitchell - the sort of place where the light filters green through the canopy and you can actually hear yourself think. Penhale Covert isn't a manicured nature reserve with interpretation boards every fifty metres. It's genuine forest, the kind Cornish walkers have been tramping through for centuries.

The paths are decent underfoot, though muddy patches are inevitable after rain. It's ideal for a solid two-hour walk, nothing too demanding, though the terrain does undulate. Families with primary-school kids will find it engaging enough - there's real woodland atmosphere without feeling remotely dangerous or impenetrable. Older walkers and anyone after a bit of solitude will appreciate it more. You might spot woodland birds if you're quiet, and the air smells properly of earth and leaf-mould.

If you're staying at Tollgate Farm - just down the road - this makes an easy morning ramble before heading elsewhere in the area. It's free access, naturally, as is most woodland in Cornwall. There's nowhere to grab a coffee or ice cream on-site, so come prepared. Best in autumn when the ground cover changes colour, though spring's decent too if you don't mind the mud. Summer can feel a bit airless in there.

It won't blow your mind as a destination in itself, but as part of a wider Cornish walking break it slots in perfectly - genuine woodland without the tourist infrastructure.