Resolution Pit

Resolution Pit is an Iron Age fortified settlement tucked away in the Durham countryside, where you can actually walk the ramparts that defended this ancient community. It's not a polished visitor attraction - there's no visitor centre, no gift shop, no one telling you what to think. You're simply wandering through earthwork banks that are still remarkably visible, trying to work out how people lived here two thousand years ago.

The site itself isn't huge. Most people spend forty minutes to an hour poking around, tracing the defensive ditches and getting a feel for the landscape these people chose to inhabit. Archaeologists reckon it was occupied sometime around 500 BCE, which puts it firmly in the Iron Age period when hillforts were the height of settlement strategy. What appeals most is the hands-on aspect - you're not reading about it behind glass, you're standing on the actual ground where someone once built their home.

It's ideal for history-minded walkers and families with kids old enough to appreciate what they're looking at without constant interpretation boards. Younger children might lose interest quickly unless they're already into archaeology. There's no admission fee that we can establish, and it's accessible year-round, though winter mud can be tiresome.

Durham itself is only a few miles away, making this a solid half-day addition to a broader visit. If you're based at Beamish Glamping - the highly-rated option nearby - you can easily combine this with the open-air museum there. For camping, Strawberry Hill Farm is closer and offers a comfortable base for exploring the region's archaeological side.