Shinewater Park Country Park

The walk around Shinewater Park is flat, easy, and genuinely absorbing if you're into birds and wetland ecology. It's a proper nature reserve - reed beds, open water, the lot - rather than a manicured park, so don't expect playground equipment or a café. What you do get is a decent circuit with viewing areas where you can actually spot something: grebes, herons, diving ducks depending on the season. Winter is best for waterfowl; spring brings migrating warblers that make twitchers fairly excited.

The reserve sits just outside Pevensey, making it ideal if you're staying at one of the holiday parks nearby - Warren Wood Country Park is barely two miles away and worth combining with this for a full day of outdoor time. Allow 90 minutes for the walk unless you're stopping to identify every bird, in which case make it two hours.

It's free to access and the paths are mostly level, so families with young kids won't struggle with terrain, though pushchair users should check conditions after rain as the ground gets soft. The real draw here is quiet observation rather than activity - adults who enjoy spotting wildlife will find it absorbing, while restless five-year-olds might get bored after 40 minutes. Bring binoculars. Honestly, if you're more interested in sandy beaches and arcades, Pevensey Bay Holiday Park is close enough and will probably suit your holiday better. But for a morning of genuine peace and actual nature, Shinewater delivers.