Trout Hill 3

The walk up to Trout Hill takes you through proper Devon moorland, and the Iron Age fort sitting on top is genuinely worth the slog. You're looking at defensive earthworks that locals have known about for centuries - banks and ditches that once enclosed a settlement, now grown over with heather and gorse. The views from up there sweep across the North Devon coast towards Lynton and down towards Exmoor. It's not a showy site with interpretation boards and gift shops. What you get instead is the real thing - archaeology you can walk around and actually feel.

This is one for people who like their history unvarnished. Families will find it acceptable if the kids are the outdoor type, though there's no visitor centre or facilities to speak of. Walkers treating it as part of a longer moorland route get far more from it than people turning up for a quick look. Allow a good couple of hours if you're coming specifically - the walk itself matters more than what you find at the top.

Timing-wise, summer's your friend here. Winter makes the paths a mud bath, and you lose the views in the mist. It's free to visit because there's simply nothing to control - you're just walking onto open moorland. If you're based at Lynmouth Holiday Retreat nearby, it makes a logical half-day excursion, though expect to be on your feet rather than having somewhere to sit down with a cup of tea afterwards. Proper hill fort walking.