Lanlivery St Brevita

The church sits quietly in the village of Lanlivery, a couple of miles south of Bodmin, looking much as it must have five hundred years ago. St Brevita's is one of those Cornish churches where you step inside and the modern world simply falls away - stone walls, a timber roof that's seen centuries pass, and windows that let light fall across the floor in patterns that shift with the seasons.

It's the kind of place walkers stumble upon rather than deliberately seek out, which is precisely why it's worth the detour. The churchyard is proper peaceful, and if you're staying at Mena Farm just down the road, it's an easy morning walk before breakfast. The building itself is fifteenth century at its heart, with some medieval bits lingering underneath, and there's real character in the details if you take time to look - the font, the monuments, the general sense that this place has held people's prayers for a very long time.

Families with older kids who can appreciate quiet spaces will get something from it. Young children might find it a bit dull after ten minutes, unless they're the sort to hunt through graveyards for interesting stones, which many are. There's no entrance fee, no visitor centre, no gift shop - just the church, open to anyone who fancies stepping inside. Allow thirty minutes, maybe an hour if you're the type to read every inscription. The surrounding countryside is lovely for walking, making it a natural pause-point on a longer ramble around the Bodmin area.