Stanstead Great Wood

The woodland floor at Stanstead Great Wood is thick with leaf litter and moss - proper spongy underfoot after rain. You're walking through mixed broadleaf forest east of Sudbury, the kind of place that feels like it's been here for centuries, all ancient oaks and twisted hazel. There's no visitor centre or facilities, which means you get the wood as it actually is rather than as a theme park version of itself.

It's a straightforward woodland walk, best done when you've got time to meander rather than stomp through. Dog walkers and families after a couple of hours of fresh air will get on well here. The paths aren't particularly demanding, though muddy patches in winter can slow you down. Wildlife spotters occasionally clock deer and various woodland birds, but you're not coming here for spectacle - you're coming for the quiet and the smell of damp earth.

With Cranfield Retreat and Lake View Lodges both just under two miles away, this makes a natural morning or afternoon break from a park-based holiday. The Four Bells Glamping is a bit further out at six and a half miles, but still within easy reach. There's no admission charge that I can find, and you can spend as little as an hour here or make a longer afternoon of it. Go when it's not too wet underfoot unless you're prepared for genuinely muddy boots - that's when the wood actually reveals itself properly.