Ibstock Baptist Church

You'll find this Victorian brick chapel tucked into the village of Ibstock, just a few miles south of Nuneaton. It's a proper working Baptist church, red-brick and functional rather than grand - the sort of building that tells you more about 19th-century Midlands life than any museum display could manage.

What makes it worth stopping for is the interior. The pews are original, the ceiling has real character, and there's an honesty to the space that a lot of grander churches have lost. If you're into religious architecture or local history, this is genuine stuff - not restored to death or turned into a café.

Don't expect to spend hours here. Twenty minutes maximum, unless you catch a service and fancy staying for that. It's the sort of stop you make when you're exploring the villages around the area, not a destination in itself.

Families with history-minded kids might get something from it, but younger children won't find much to occupy them. Walkers doing a loop through Leicestershire villages? Yes, absolutely. Day-trippers from Nuneaton looking for a rainy-day option? Possibly, depending on whether it's actually open.

The thing is, if you're already staying at The Dandelion Hideaway or Bosworth Lakeside Lodges for a proper park holiday, this makes a decent half-hour detour. It's real, it's local, and it doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is. Worth the walk from the village car park.