Coventry Cathedral

The raw concrete and glass of Coventry Cathedral hit you before you've even stepped inside - this isn't your typical English cathedral, all honey-coloured stone and soaring medieval arches. Built in the 1950s after the original was obliterated in the Blitz, it's a proper statement: modernist, bold, and somehow moving for exactly those reasons. The ribbed concrete vault overhead is genuinely impressive, and the stained glass by John Piper floods the place with colour. You can walk round in twenty minutes if you're rushing, but an hour lets you actually sit with it.

Historyfolk will find themselves drawn back repeatedly. The ruins of the medieval cathedral still stand next to the new build - side by side, old and new - and that juxtaposition says more about Coventry's story than any placard could. It's free to get in, which helps.

Families with younger kids might find it a bit solemn and lengthy, though teenagers studying 20th-century architecture or post-war reconstruction will get something real from it. It's not a day-long attraction - treat it as a proper stop while you're in the city centre, then head out to the caravan parks. Hollyfast, three miles out, is the pick of the nearby options and makes a solid base for exploring Warwickshire. The cathedral works best with a bit of context - go in knowing what happened, and the building becomes far more than just another church.