Ruined Farmhouse

Stone walls stand half-collapsed against the Cornish moorland, their edges softened by centuries of wind and rain. This ruined farmhouse sprawls across rough ground just outside Bodmin, a stark reminder of how people eked out livings on these unforgiving slopes long before tourism became the region's mainstay.

What you get here is atmosphere rather than spectacle. There's no visitor centre, no interpretation boards explaining the building's history - just the bones of the structure itself and your own imagination filling in the gaps. It's worth a 20-minute wander if you're passing through the area, particularly if you're interested in how rural communities survived on marginal land. Walkers will find it a natural stop on a longer moorland tramp, and it won't bore the kids if they're the type to enjoy clambering over old stones and making up stories about who lived here.

The nearest proper base is Bodmin, a working town rather than a tourist hotspot, which suits this kind of exploration. If you're camping at Mena Farm or The Camping Field - both within a couple of miles - the farmhouse makes a decent afternoon detour without eating into your day. It's free, obviously, and you can visit whenever suits you. Don't expect facilities or facilities or a grand day out. What you will find is a genuine piece of Cornish rural history, unprepared and unglamorous, which is precisely why it's worth the detour.