Saint Michaels, Kirk Langley

The churchyard sits quiet on the edge of Kirk Langley village, about five miles north of Ashbourne, and St Michael's itself is worth stopping for if you're passing through Derbyshire. It's a proper medieval church with some genuinely interesting bits inside - the sort of place where you spend twenty minutes reading memorial plaques and suddenly an hour's gone.

The building dates back centuries, with that sturdy stone construction you get across the Peak District. Inside, there's good stained glass and the kind of ornate tombs that appeal to anyone with even a passing interest in local history. The churchyard has some atmospheric old graves too, which sounds morbid but genuinely adds character.

It's free to visit and you can pretty much turn up whenever - no faffing about with restricted hours. Allow thirty to forty minutes if you're thorough; ten minutes if you're just popping in between other village wandering. Families with restless kids might find it a bit static, but if you've got teenagers into architecture or local history, they'll get something from it.

If you're staying at Poplars Farm just down the road, you could easily slot this into a village walk around Kirk Langley itself. Not a blockbuster attraction by any means, but the sort of thing that actually rewards a detour if you're exploring rural Derbyshire properly. The village itself is pleasant enough for stretching your legs between caravan sites.