Mary Russell Mitford

Three Mile Cross, just outside Wokingham, was home to Mary Russell Mitford - the 19th-century writer and dramatist whose sketch collections made her name. She lived here for 34 years in a modest cottage that's now a place of pilgrimage for anyone interested in Regency-era literary life. Walking through the village, you're tracing the footsteps of someone who actually mattered in her time - her plays were performed in London theatres, her essays were read across Britain.

The cottage itself is modest, which is rather the point. Mitford wasn't wealthy, and she earned her living by her pen when that was genuinely difficult for a woman to do. Inside, you'll find period furnishings and displays covering her work - the essays that became "Our Village" are the main draw here, those affectionate sketches of rural life that influenced how Victorian readers understood the English countryside.

It's most rewarding for literature types and anyone interested in women's writing history. Casual visitors might find it a touch quiet - there's no café or gift shop theatrics, just the real thing. Allow an hour, perhaps ninety minutes if you want to sit with her work properly. Reading is your nearest town for facilities and lunch.

Wellington Country Park, three miles away, makes a sensible half-day pairing - you could do the cottage in the morning, then head to the park for woodland walks and lakes. Neither demands a full day commitment, which suits a loose itinerary perfectly.