TAKE A WALK IN THE WOODS

Kielder Forest, Northumberland

Kielder Forest isn’t your stereotypically excellent hillwalking area. For a start, there are hardly any hills. And secondly, the whole thing is basically fake. The forest itself is a large-scale plantation covering 250 square miles, while Kielder Water – the giant body of water lying at its centre – is the largest man-made lake in northern Europe.

So why go to Kielder? Well, for a start it’s a beautiful place to walk. Somewhere you can either join the crowds on popular paths including the 27-mile Kielder Water shoreline trail, with 20 pieces of outdoor art along the way; or somewhere you can really get away from it all by heading deep beneath the canopy. So far away from it all, in fact, that if you chuck the 10-ten figure grid reference NY5800085879 into your GPS system of choice, you’ll find yourself heading towards the furthest point from a public road anywhere in England.

Early morning is a special time here, with mist lifting off the lake and trees. Buzzards, sparrowhawks, goshawks and Kielder’s famous nesting ospreys (the first to recolonise naturally in Northumberland for over 200 years) are common sights. The night skies above the forest are thought to be the darkest in England so are great for stargazing, and if you want to see as much of the area as possible then hiring a mountain bike is a good option too. Mix all that with a few days exploring the Cheviot Hills, and you’ve got a seriously good trip.