Salperton Camp

Getting to Salperton Camp means abandoning the car and doing a proper walk through the Cotswold Hills near Cheltenham - which is exactly the point of the place. This Iron Age hillfort sits on high ground where someone, around two thousand years ago, decided it was the right spot to dig ditches and throw up ramparts. What you're actually looking at now is earthworks - lumps and bumps in the grass that make sense once you know what they are, utterly invisible if you don't.

It's the kind of archaeology that rewards a bit of effort and imagination. The ditches are still there, the defensive layout is readable if you squint at it right, and the views across the landscape suggest why this particular hill mattered to Iron Age farmers. No interpretation boards, no visitor centre, just you and the hillside.

History enthusiasts will get genuine value here - it's a proper site, not a museum recreation. Families with kids old enough to enjoy a ramble will find it interesting, though under-eights might struggle to see why lumpy grass is exciting. Allow ninety minutes including the walk from nearby Bourton-on-the-Water Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite, which sits just under two miles away and makes a decent base for exploring the area.

It's free, obviously. Muddy boots essential. Go when the ground's dry - there's nothing worse than trudging through waterlogged fields to look at earthworks you can't properly see anyway.