Sour Hill

The walk up Sour Hill starts properly steep, and if you're not expecting that right from the off, you'll feel it in your legs within ten minutes. It's a genuine hill - none of this gentle slope nonsense - that climbs above Appleby-in-Westmorland with proper views across the Eden Valley once you're up there.

From the summit you get the kind of vista that makes the huffing worthwhile: moorland stretching out, the valley floor laid out beneath you, and on a clear day you can see proper distance. It's not high enough to feel remote, but it's isolated enough that you won't be queuing for the view. The whole thing takes a couple of hours up and down if you're moving at a reasonable pace.

Walkers who like a proper leg-stretcher will enjoy this far more than the kind of people looking for a gentle stroll. Kids will manage it if they're used to hills, though the relentless nature of the ascent means whingeing does happen. It's genuinely free - there's no visitor centre, no entry fee, just a path and some moorland.

If you're based at Gillcumber Glamping Pods - only five miles away - this works perfectly as a half-day outing that gets you out of the glamp without disappearing for the whole day. Worth the drive from Appleby itself, though the town makes a decent pit stop afterwards for lunch. Go midweek if you can. Weekends bring the local crowd, and the narrow approach paths get a bit busy.