Captain Backhouse Tomb

You'll find this Victorian-era tomb tucked away in the Buckinghamshire countryside near Tring, and it's the sort of place that stops you mid-walk. Captain Backhouse's resting place is a proper bit of local history - a stone monument that speaks to a very different era of memorialisation. The tomb itself is modest but distinctive, the kind of thing that makes you wonder about the man buried there and why his monument warranted such a specific location.

It's genuinely worth a detour if you're already exploring the footpaths around Tring, though I wouldn't say it's the sort of thing you'd travel miles out of your way for on its own. The real charm is in the walking - the tomb sits within easy reach of some decent countryside rambles, and it gives you a decent reason to get your boots on and actually cover some ground rather than just visiting another garden centre cafe.

History buffs will get more from it than most, but walkers using Hill Farm Camping or Lights Camera Glamping as a base will find it a nice waypoint on a longer route rather than a destination in itself. The spot tends to be quiet, which is refreshing - you won't be jostling for photos. Allow twenty minutes to have a proper look around and read what you can of the inscription. Access appears to be open year-round via the footpaths, though conditions underfoot can be boggy after rain. There's something quite moving about these off-the-beaten-track burial monuments - they tell you more about how people lived than any museum ever could.