Newbury

Two minutes from the town centre and you're walking through proper ancient woodland. The Warren stretches for miles, all dappled sunlight and footpaths that wind toward the rolling chalk downs. This is proper Hampshire countryside - the kind Thomas Hardy wrote about, though he'd probably recognise precious little of modern Newbury itself.

Newbury sits where the River Kennet cuts through the North Wessex Downs, creating a natural corridor that's been a trading route since Roman times. The town's grown considerably, but step away from the shopping centres and you'll find yourself on Watership Down within half an hour. Yes, that Watership Down - Richard Adams lived locally and based his rabbit epic on these very hills.

Four Kingdoms adventure park keeps families busy for a proper day out, while Greenham Peace Garden marks where the women's peace camp once protested nuclear weapons. The contrast tells you everything about this area's layers of history. Up on Ladle Hill, you can still trace the outline of an Iron Age hillfort, and Bowry Walls shows how people have been fortifying these heights for millennia.

Getting here couldn't be easier - Newbury's on the M4 and has direct trains to London Paddington. Reading's just 20 minutes east if you need a bigger shopping fix. The real draw, though, is having all this downland walking practically on your doorstep. Wellington Country Park and the cluster of holiday sites around Bishops Green put you right in the thick of it, with bridleways leading off toward Cottington's Hill and the broader sweep of the North Wessex Downs AONB.