Astley Castle

The ruins of Astley Castle rise from the Leicestershire countryside like a half-finished story, a jumble of red sandstone walls that somehow got more interesting after a fire nearly finished it off. What you're looking at is a medieval fortress that's been knocked about by wars, rebuilt, burned down in the 1970s, and then painstakingly restored by the Landmark Trust into something oddly beautiful - a sort of controlled ruin where you can actually see how the place was constructed.

It's not a grand day out on its own, if I'm honest. You'll walk around the grounds, peer at the stonework, maybe spend twenty minutes max taking it in. But if you're camping nearby - and Nightingales Rustic Camping is only four miles away, which is properly convenient - it makes a nice afternoon excursion between park activities. The setting is peaceful rather than dramatic, countryside that rolls on without fuss.

Historically minded folk will get more from it than casual visitors. The layers of medieval architecture, the evidence of repair work through the centuries, the way the Trust restored it without trying to make it look new again - that's the real draw. Kids might find the climbing about entertaining for a bit, but it's not a fortress you can properly explore inside, so don't expect them to be absorbed for hours.

Coventry's close by if you need town amenities, and the rural setting means you're not far from other Warwickshire attractions. Worth a detour if you're based at one of the local parks, though not worth planning a special trip around.