Woodland walks

The largest man-made woodland in England covering over 250 square miles, Kielder Forest is the perfect place to stretch your legs under a green canopy while being serenaded by woodland birds. The Lakeside Way makes the most of the forest’s 27 miles of shoreline as it follows Kielder Water, the UK’s largest artificial lake. The impressive wood and water skyline makes a wonderful backdrop for 20 pieces of public art, including the ultra-futuristic Belvedere shelter and the oversized swivelling Janus Chairs: just right for taking a breather and inhaling the panoramic views. Other highlights on the circular walk include Kielder Dam and Kielder Castle, formerly the Duke of Northumberland’s Hunting Lodge. You should also keep your eyes peeled for wildlife on the way including ospreys (which have been successfully re-bred in the area), roe deer and otters.

Despite being a World Heritage Site boasting an array of hikes that cover forest, woodland and wetlands embellished with over 80 art installations and sculptures, hiking is only half of the reason to visit Grizedale Forest. Nestled in the Lake District between Coniston and Windermere, the forest is a hive of activity. As well as a large car park, a network of walking and cycle trails, children’s play areas and activity trails, an excellent café, picnic and BBQ area, you can also explore the forest via the hour-long Forest Segway tour or on electric bikes. The 4,000-hectare forest is also a haven for wildlife, home to buzzards, red kites, butterflies and dragonflies in the Brand Wetlands.

Visit Hatfield Forest during May and June, and you’ll be confronted by seemingly endless golden plains as the forest fields erupt in a sea of 300 million buttercups. Then again, there’s no bad time to visit Hatfield Forest, Britain’s best-surviving medieval royal hunting forest home to over 3,500 species of wildlife and trees more than 1,000 years old. Come in autumn, and you’ll catch the changing of the guard as the leaves turn from green through a symphony of red and golden hues. Meanwhile, spring sees the historic forest waking up from its winter slumber, green shoots thrusting forward at every opportunity. And thanks to the management of the land, its history has been unchanged for centuries, making a trip to Hatfield Forest a little like time travelling.

Combining a rose-tinted stroll down memory lane and an invigorating nine-mile hike that takes in some stunning historical features, Ashdown Forest is one of our favourite woodland walks. A designated Area of Outstanding Beauty, Winnie the Pooh fans will instantly recognise the rolling wooded landscape as it inspired much of A. A. Milne’s Five Hundred Acre Wood, the famous home of Pooh, Piglet and the mysterious Heffalumps. And the best place to park is in the – yup, you guessed it – Pooh Car Park.

Running from Chepstow on the Severn Estuary to Prestatyn in North Wales, Offa’s Dyke is a highly rewarding 177-mike trek that takes in a wonderful variety of landscapes, crisscrossing the Anglo-Welsh border nine times. From the plunging Wye river valley to ancient woodlands, medieval castles, the Brecon Beacons, Clwydian Hills and remote moors, the path follows Offa’s Dyke for 70 miles, a large earthwork barrier up to 20m wide that was built in the 800s by the Anglo-Saxon king Offa.

The most recent national park officially created in 2005, The New Forest is a vast expanse of woodland. It boasts 193,000 acres of forest located between Southampton and Bournemouth and is bordered by the Solent. With over 143 miles of paths spread over 200 square miles of forest, it’s a haven for hikers and wildlife fans, home to five types of deer, hundreds of bird species and thousands of wild ponies.