Godolphin House

The moment you arrive at Godolphin House, you're looking at real Tudor and Stuart architecture - the sort of place where you can actually see the centuries stacked on top of each other. This isn't a museum piece roped off behind glass; it's a working estate with rooms that feel lived in, which makes the whole experience rather more visceral than a typical heritage site.

You'll wander through a proper hall house with its original granite-mullioned windows and get a genuine sense of how the gentry lived between the 16th and 18th centuries. The gardens are equally impressive - formal, considered, and a world away from the scrappy tourist attractions you find elsewhere. History types will absolutely lose themselves here; families with older kids will appreciate the scale of it, though the under-eights might flag after an hour.

It's a couple of miles inland from Praa Sands, which puts it perfectly for a holiday that mixes beach days with something more cerebral. If you're camped at Foxglove Field Glamping or Higher Trevaskis, you're looking at a short drive rather than a trudge. The site isn't overrun, which is refreshing - you can actually hear yourself think.

Check opening hours before you go, as visits sometimes require booking. It's the sort of place that rewards a bit of planning rather than a random drop-in. Well worth the detour if you've got more than three days in the area and fancy something beyond the obvious coastal circuit.