Chysauster Ancient Village

Walking up through bracken-covered slopes near Chysauster village, you're heading back to Iron Age Cornwall - and the ruins speak for themselves. This is a proper archaeological site, not a reconstructed theme park. What you'll find are the remains of about eight stone-built roundhouses dating to around 100 AD, scattered across a hillside with views that stretch toward the coast.

It's atmospheric rather than showy. The stone foundations are visible, some standing waist-high, and if you've got an interest in how people actually lived two thousand years ago, you'll spend a solid hour picking through the layout - working out where doorways were, spotting the terraced fields beyond the houses, trying to imagine the daily grind of farming these moorland slopes. Kids sometimes find it a bit abstract (there's no "story" laid on for them), but older children and anyone with an appetite for archaeology will engage properly.

Free to access and outdoors, so no timetable to worry about. The site's exposed, so wind can bite - go on a clearer day if you can, and wear decent boots because the ground gets waterlogged. Allow about ninety minutes if you're thorough.

If you're based at one of the touring parks nearby - Polmanter is closest at three miles, or St. Ives Holiday Village if you fancy being closer to the coast - Chysauster works as a good half-day excursion. The moorland walk clears the head after a few days of seaside crowds.