Lighthorne

The village of Lighthorne sits quietly a few miles south of Leamington Spa, the sort of place you'd drive through without thinking twice unless you knew what to look for. This is genuinely old England - a medieval settlement that's barely changed shape since the 13th century, with a church and scattered stone cottages arranged around what was once a proper working village.

What draws people here is the architecture and the sense of time standing still. St James the Great church dominates the green - a handsome stone building with a tower that rewards a proper look inside if you can get it open. The surrounding buildings, many of them timber-framed and dating back centuries, give you a real feel for what rural Warwickshire looked like before the Industrial Revolution came along and swallowed everything up.

Historically minded walkers and architecture enthusiasts will get the most from Lighthorne. Families might find it a touch dull unless they're keen on graveyards and old walls, though it makes a pleasant leg-stretch on a country ramble. There's no visitor facility here - this is a lived-in village, not a heritage attraction with facilities and signage.

If you're staying at one of the caravan parks nearby - Harbury Fields Farm is closest at under three miles - Lighthorne works well as a gentle morning walk. The lanes around it are proper walking country, and you could easily string together a longer circuit taking in neighbouring villages. Go on a weekday morning when it's quiet and you'll feel like you've stepped back about 500 years.