Skylark Lakes

The moment you set eyes on Skylark Lakes, you understand why people drive out to this corner of Cambridgeshire just to sit by the water. It's a proper inland lake system east of March, the kind of place where you can actually breathe - wide open skies, the sound of actual birds, and enough water to make you forget you're in the Fens for a minute.

What you get here depends entirely on what you're after. Walkers love it because there are decent paths around the lakes themselves, nothing too taxing but proper rewarding if the light's right. Anglers pitch up regularly - the fishing's apparently solid, though you'll want to check permissions before you cast off. Birdwatchers come for the winter migrants and summer residents. If you've got kids who can amuse themselves for an hour without screaming, they'll find the lake views and the general sense of space enough.

The honest truth: it's not a destination in itself. You don't drive two hours to stand here all day. But if you're camping at Fenland Camping and Caravan Park, just two miles down the road, or any of the other decent parks within striking distance - Fields End Water, Knightsbridge - then absolutely fit it into a morning walk. It's the kind of place that makes a caravan holiday feel less like sitting in a field and more like actually having escaped somewhere.

Free to visit, open to the sky whenever you fancy. Best in clearer weather when you can actually see across the water.