Folly

The tower stands alone on the hillside near Holford, a brick folly built in the 1790s by someone with more money than sense - or so the locals would have you believe. It's a proper curiosity: a cylindrical tower, roughly 50 feet tall, serving absolutely no practical purpose whatsoever. Walk up from the village and you'll find yourself staring at this thing, wondering what on earth compelled its builder to erect it in the first place.

The views across the Quantock Hills are genuinely worth the climb, mind you. On a clear day, you can see right across Somerset. The surrounding woodland is lovely for ambling through, and the whole area feels properly remote despite being accessible from Holford in about twenty minutes on foot.

Historically inclined visitors will appreciate the eccentricity of it all - 18th-century landowners sometimes built follies purely as focal points in the landscape or as conversation pieces. This one certainly achieved that. It's free to visit and takes perhaps an hour all in, including the walk and a good look around. Families with older children who don't mind a decent hike will get something out of it, though younger ones might find the novelty wears off quickly.

If you're staying at one of the nearby parks - Moorhouse Campsite is closest at just over three miles away - this makes a solid half-day excursion. Combine it with a walk through the Quantocks proper and you've got a proper outing. Go midweek if you can; weekends pull in quite a few hikers.