Walshaw Dean Middle Reservoir

The walk out to Walshaw Dean Middle Reservoir is the real draw here - not the reservoir itself, which is pleasant enough but hardly a stunner. You're heading into proper Pennine moorland, a few miles north of Hebden Bridge, where the landscape gets properly wild and the noise of the world drops away almost immediately.

The reservoir sits in a valley surrounded by heather and bracken, with the obligatory stone dam at one end. It's one of a chain of three reservoirs built in the 1800s to supply water to the textile mills downstream. The engineering is solid and worth a look, but you're really here for the walk and the quietness.

Allow three to four hours for a decent circuit if you're not rushing. The path is well-trodden and mostly clear, though it can be boggy in places - proper fell country boots are worth bringing. Families with older kids will manage fine, but toddlers will struggle with the distance and terrain.

Go on a clear day. Mist rolls in quickly up here and kills the views dead. Autumn is probably best - less crowded than summer weekends, less muddy than winter. Combine it with nearby Old Chamber Camping or Shay Gate Farm Campsite if you're basing yourself in the area, and you've got access to some serious walking without the Snowdonia crowds. It's free, obviously, and you won't see many other people once you're past the first mile.