Yew Tree Cottage Camping and Caravan Site​

When you don’t fancy straying far from quarters, Shustoke Reservoir (10 minutes' drive) is a haven for birdlife and a hub for sailors and fisherfolk. Circular walks connect with the 100-mile long Heart of England Way, running between Cannock Chase in Staffordshire and the Cotswolds. For a short-cut, it’s a 45-minute car trip to Cannock Chase, where there are deer-filled woodlands to walk, bike and Segway your way through, zipwires to zoom down and an assault course for dogs. Woof. To add historical flavour to your adventures, make for medieval Maxstoke Castle (five minutes), moated and stacked with relics including the chair Henry VII was crowned on. For noisier nostalgia, it’s 15 minutes to the National Motorcycle Museum, or you could get all poetic perusing Shakespeare’s home at Stratford-upon-Avon (50 minutes). Thrillseekers should report to Drayton Manor Theme Park for all kinds of white knuckle rides, or wend their way to Kingsbury Waterpark (both 15 minutes), for jet bikes, power boat racing and waterskiing. You can hack, cycle or walk around the Kingsbury site, stopping off for fishing and birdwatching, but if you like your wildlife wilder, try the chimps and zebras at Twycross Zoo (25 minutes) or drive among the lions, cheetahs and rhinos at West Midlands Safari Park (an hour). Beetle over to Birmingham (half an hour) for urban adventures, like tours of the science museum and Jewellery Quarter, chocolate-flavoured 4D experiences, factory tours (and actual chocolate) at Cadbury World, and bucketloads of Brum’s best dish, balti.