Natural History Museum at Tring

You'll walk straight into a room full of stuffed animals - and I mean full. The Natural History Museum at Tring is essentially Walter Rothschild's private zoological collection, donated to the nation over a century ago, and it still feels like wandering through someone's obsessive Victorian passion project. Glass cases stretch down corridors packed with everything from tiny hummingbirds to a full-sized giraffe. The taxidermy is genuinely impressive, even if the sight of countless dead creatures in rigid poses takes getting used to.

This place absolutely grabs anyone obsessed with natural history or Victorian collecting. Kids tend to either love it or find it slightly unsettling - depends on the child, really. Teenagers usually prefer somewhere more interactive. Plan on two hours maximum; it's compact and you'll see the best of it in that time.

Admission is free, which is brilliant value given the quality of the collections. Tring itself is a proper market town, so you can easily pair a museum visit with lunch or a walk around the town centre.

If you're camping nearby - Hill Farm Camping is just over two miles away, or Norcott Campsite sits in an orchard three miles out - the museum works well as a rainy-day activity. The Chiltern landscape around Tring is lovely for walking, so combine this with some proper countryside time rather than treating it as your main event. It's well worth an hour, but don't expect it to fill a whole day.