Teardrop Lake

The water here is properly still on a calm day, which is exactly why Teardrop Lake pulls in photographers and walkers looking for somewhere quiet near Peterborough. It's a modest body of water - don't expect vast vistas - but the setting works. You get decent walking routes around the perimeter, and the bank is accessible enough for families to potter about without drama.

The lake sits within a broader network of green space and water features in the area, so it's the sort of thing you'd build into a longer ramble rather than make a special trip for on its own. That said, if you're based at Ferry Meadows Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite just down the road, it's a natural extension of your day - flat terrain, no scrambling about, and the kind of light you get on the Cambridgeshire fens is genuinely lovely when the sun cooperates.

Really keen birdwatchers sometimes get excited here, though you'll need patience and decent binoculars. Kids will manage an hour of exploring before restlessness sets in unless they're the type who genuinely enjoy spotting water birds and reading the interpretive boards.

Access appears to be free and open to the public, though you'll want to check locally before heading out - facilities and exact opening times aren't always clearly signposted for water features in this part of Cambridgeshire. Best visited on a windless day when the reflections actually matter.