The Woodlands

The Woodlands near Shrewsbury is a proper walk through mixed forest - the kind of place where you actually feel like you've left town behind, even though the car park's only minutes from the ring road. Ancient oaks tower overhead, the undergrowth is thick, and in spring the bluebells are genuinely worth the trip.

It's best suited to walkers who don't need manicured paths and waymarked routes. Families with young kids will manage the easier sections fine, but if you've got toddlers expecting a neat circuit with benches every hundred metres, you'll struggle. The woodland is fairly dense in places, so go in good weather when you can actually see the trees properly rather than just squelch through mud.

Allow a couple of hours minimum if you want to properly explore rather than bash round for a quick leg-stretch. Spring and early autumn are the standout seasons - winter can be bleak and damp, summer gets buggy.

Staying at Springfield Riverside Camping and Glamping, less than two miles away, means you're close enough to pop over for a morning walk before heading elsewhere in Shropshire. Hawk Lake and Shropshire Glamping, both four miles out, give you a bit more peace and quiet at base while keeping the woods accessible. It's not the most dramatic forest in the county, but it's real woodland that repays a proper visit rather than a quick snap for Instagram.