Hardwick Old Hall

The ruins sprawl across a Derbyshire hillside like a stone skeleton, and there's something genuinely arresting about seeing what Elizabeth of Hardwick left behind. This is the earlier incarnation of her grand ambitions - she abandoned it for the far more impressive Hardwick New Hall next door, which tells you something about her appetite for reinvention. What remains are substantial enough: you can still make out the layout, trace the rooms, understand the scale of domestic life in the 1500s. The view across the Nottinghamshire border is genuinely worth the walk up from the car park, and the quietness of the site is proper restorative.

English Heritage maintains it well without overdoing the interpretation boards, which means walkers appreciate it as much as anyone with a specific interest in Tudor architecture. Most people give it ninety minutes, perhaps two hours if you're combining it with New Hall - and you absolutely should, since they're so close. It's free to wander the grounds, though there's a modest charge if you want the full buildings experience.

For families staying at Silverhill Woodland Retreats or Teversal Campsite - both just minutes away - this makes a cracking half-day stop. Kids either click with clambering over old walls and spotting stone carvings, or they don't. There's no indoor shelter to speak of, so timing it right matters. Spring and autumn work best; summer heat makes the exposed hillside a bit much, and winter can turn muddy. It's a proper bit of Derbyshire history without the crowds you'd battle at better-known Heritage sites.