Pennywell Wood

The woodland around Pennywell, just outside Oxford, offers exactly what you want when you've had enough of the city's colleges and crowds. It's proper forest floor stuff - paths winding through beech and oak, the kind of place where you actually hear yourself think. Nothing fancy, no visitor centre or café, just trees and quiet and the occasional flash of woodland birds if you're lucky enough.

Walkers will get the most from it. The terrain's gentle enough that it's not a slog, but there's enough woodland to properly stretch your legs for an hour or two without feeling like you're going in circles. Families with younger kids might find it a bit samey after the first thirty minutes - there aren't playground facilities or any obvious "attractions" within the wood itself, so you're really here for the walk rather than a day out.

Since admission details aren't publicly listed, it's likely open access, though it's worth checking locally before you go. Allow a couple of hours if you want to explore properly rather than just do a quick loop. The wood works well as a break from the caravan parks scattered around the area - Diamond Caravan Park and Common Leys Farm are both under five miles away. After a morning walk here, you've earned a proper pub lunch back in Oxford or one of the nearby villages. Best visited when the ground's dry; winter mud can be relentless.