Church Of The Ascension (Camp Chapel)

The Church of the Ascension sits quietly on the edge of Minehead, a small Victorian chapel that most visitors drive straight past without noticing. Built in the 1800s as a camp chapel, it's the sort of place you stumble upon rather than plan for - all red brick and modest architectural ambition, but genuinely atmospheric inside.

What makes it worth a stop isn't the building itself so much as what it represents. It served the seasonal workers and visitors who descended on this part of Somerset over a century ago, and you can still feel that sense of community in there. The interior is simple and well-kept, with decent stained glass and the kind of quiet that actually feels rare these days.

It's ideal for anyone interested in local history or Victorian religious architecture, though it won't keep you more than thirty minutes unless you're keen on a good read through the notices. The real draw is combining it with a walk around Minehead itself - the church sits just enough on the periphery that you can make it part of a longer ramble rather than a destination in itself.

If you're camped at the Minehead Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite, you're barely a mile away, so it's an easy detour before or after a coastal walk. Free to visit, open during daylight hours as far as we can tell. Kids won't be thrilled unless they're genuinely into old buildings, but it's a proper bit of Somerset character.