Marston Park

Embark on a self-driven safari at Longleat (15 minutes' drive), the world-famous Wiltshire wildlife park where tigers, lions and wolves can be seen skulking between the trees. (Friendlier beasts like giraffes and lemurs are also on display.) To be in with a chance of seeing native critters like grey herons, otters and kingfishers, take your tribe for a wildlife stake-out down at Rodden Nature Reserve (10 minutes). Some of southern England's finest aristo architecture can be admired in posh nearby spots like Bath's 18th-century Royal Crescent (30 minutes) and Stourhead (15 minutes), a National Trust-managed Palladian palace with exceptional landscaped grounds. The West Country may be a far cry from big-city smog and traffic, but it's a fair deal edgier than this green and grassy landscape would initially suggest. Few places beat Bruton (20 minutes) in terms of cool: this handsome Somerset village is full of cutting-edge designers, lifestyle shops, art galleries and innovative eateries like At the Chapel, a bakery housed in a Grade-II listed former church. Free spirits who aren't too bothered by Instagrammable bites may well prefer trips to hippy haunts like Glastonbury Tor (30 minutes) or Avebury (50 minutes).