Priest Barrow

The walk up Priest Barrow rewards you with views across the Mendips that stretch for miles on a clear day. It's a proper summit for the area - nothing mountainous, but the 370-metre peak gives you enough height to feel like you've earned the effort, and Bath spreads out below in the distance.

The barrow itself is Bronze Age, though there's not much to see beyond the earthwork if you're expecting dramatic stones. What you get instead is isolation and space - the kind of place where you actually notice the light changing on the slopes. The walk takes around an hour from the nearest parking, depending on your fitness and how much time you spend lingering.

Walkers will appreciate this more than families with small children. The terrain is rough in places and there's exposure on the steeper sections, so it's not toddler-friendly. If you're based at Bath Mill Lodge Retreat for a week, this makes a decent half-day outing and breaks up the holiday park routine without requiring a long drive.

Clear mornings are your best bet - the view's the only real payoff, so cloud cover makes it feel like a long walk for not much reward. Spring and autumn are ideal; summer can get muggy up there. The peak's free to access, of course, and you'll have the place largely to yourself outside school holidays.