Model Room

The Model Room sits just outside Watford and is one of those odd pieces of local history that doesn't shout about itself. It's a Victorian-era structure that once served as a display space for architectural models and designs - the kind of thing that would have impressed Victorian gentlemen interested in building and engineering. Today it stands as a reminder of how seriously 19th-century craftsmen took their work, with actual scale models still on display inside.

It's not a day-long attraction, to be honest. Most people will spend 20 minutes to half an hour here, though if you're genuinely interested in period construction techniques or architectural history, you could stretch it to an hour with the right guide. The building itself has character - it photographs well and gives you a proper sense of what mattered to people in that era.

Architecture enthusiasts and history buffs will get more from this than casual visitors will. Kids might find it dry unless they're already keen on how things are built. The free admission (if it still is - do check ahead, as details are sparse) makes it worth a stop if you're passing through the area.

If you're basing yourself at one of the caravan parks nearby - Heritage Park Homes at Bushey Hall is just three miles away - you could easily tack this onto a broader Watford-area itinerary alongside Aldenham Country Park, which sits five miles south. It's the kind of stop that rounds out a day rather than anchors it, but that's precisely what makes it useful.