Old church

The old church at Freshwater sits quietly at the heart of the village, all weathered stone and Gothic angles. Step inside and you're met with that particular smell - cold, dusty, somehow comforting - that comes with centuries-old buildings. The interior's modest but genuine: proper Victorian-era pews, stained glass that catches the light properly when the sun's right, and a chancel that speaks to a time when this was the centre of community life. It's not a showstopper like some of the grand coastal churches you'll find elsewhere on the Isle of Wight, but that's rather the point. This is working parish architecture, the kind of place locals have actually used for generations rather than queued to photograph.

Walkers and history types get the most out of it - a 15-minute wander from the main shops in Freshwater, so easy to slot into a morning before heading elsewhere. Families with young kids might find it a bit quiet and still for more than ten minutes, though there's something rather good about teaching them to respect old spaces. The churchyard itself is worth a poke around, with gravestones reading like the area's family tree going back centuries.

It's free to visit, as most parish churches are, though donations are usually welcomed. Allow half an hour maximum, then head to Compton Farm just down the road - only 3.1 miles away - where you can stretch out with the holiday parks facilities. The church works best as part of a broader Freshwater day rather than a standalone trip, but that's fine. Sometimes the best bits of a holiday aren't the main attractions at all.