Slaughter Woods

The woods south of Bourton-on-the-Water are proper dark and atmospheric in places - ancient beech and oak rising up from the forest floor, with paths that wind through dense canopy and suddenly open onto clearings. Slaughter Woods sits on the edge of the Cotswolds, and frankly, the name's more interesting than the location itself, which is why people traipse out here in the first place.

It's free to walk through, and the whole thing takes between 45 minutes to two hours depending on how many dead ends you wander down. The paths are well-trodden but muddy after rain - proper squelchy in winter. It's ideal if you're staying at Cotswolds Meadow Glamping or one of the other lodges nearby and want a half-day activity that doesn't require booking anything. Kids will enjoy the scrambling about and general wildness of it, though there's no café or visitor centre, so bring snacks.

Historically interesting if you're into that sort of thing - the whole area has Iron Age settlement links - but visually it's just trees and more trees. No dramatic viewpoints, no ruins poking through. That said, there's something rather meditative about it if you time it right. Avoid weekends, and go early autumn when the light filters through differently. Pair it with a stroll around Bourton-on-the-Water itself, which is only a couple of miles away and actually worth your time. The woods are the appetiser, not the main event.