Deerheart

For walks close to base, follow the Deerheart Trail through the nearby woodlands and meadows, or take a 10-minute drive to Kentchurch Court to wander the elegant gardens of this Jacobean country pile. If you’re more into craggy castles, you’ve hit the jackpot, with Grosmont, Skenfrith, Goodrich and Monmouth castles all between 10 minutes’ and half an hour’s drive away; if you’re into big walks, you can bag a trio of castles in one 19-mile circuit, or join the 177-mile Offa’s Dyke Path in Monmouth. It’s half an hour to Symonds Yat for rock climbing and walks through the Wye valley, and about 50 minutes to the peaks and crags of the Black Mountains. Kayak your way down the Wye from Monmouth or head to Llangorse lake (45 minutes) for watersports and fishing. Perrygrove, about the same distance away, has great larks on its miniature railway and treetop adventure trail, and to go deep down below, you can explore the caves and former iron mines at Clearwell (50 minutes). A similar distance away in the Forest of Dean, Puzzlewood ia a woodland labyrinth of pathways and hidden wonders.