Pleasley Cross

A stone cross standing alone near Sutton-in-Ashfield marks centuries of local life in this part of Nottinghamshire. Pleasley Cross is a proper piece of medieval heritage - the kind of thing you might walk past without thinking twice, but stop to examine and you're holding history in your hands. It's an old wayside marker, the sort that once guided travellers and marked parish boundaries when that actually meant something.

You won't spend hours here. Twenty minutes tops, and that's if you're photographing it from every angle or reading up on the inscriptions. It's the sort of stop that works best when you're already exploring the wider area - either heading to Sherwood Forest Holiday Park just down the road, or based at Silverhill Woodland Retreats nearby. Walkers and local history types will get the most from it; young children will probably find it a bit underwhelming unless you've got a solid story about medieval times to share.

The real value is in how it sits within the fabric of Nottinghamshire's past. If you're staying at one of the holiday parks in the area - and Tall Trees is also within striking distance - this gives you a proper sense of how communities were organised centuries ago. The cross isn't cordoned off or fenced; you can get close and look properly. Free to visit, naturally. Best to go when the light's decent for photographs, and perhaps pair it with a longer walk around the village.