Saint Winwaloe Church & Poundstock Gildhouse

The medieval church sits quietly in Poundstock village, a few miles inland from Bude, and it's the sort of place that makes you understand why people bothered to build proper stone churches in remote corners of Cornwall. Saint Winwaloe Church dates back centuries, with that satisfying jumble of Norman and later additions that tells you exactly how much has changed - and how little - over time.

What strikes you first is the Gildhouse attached to the church. These structures are rare now, and this one's a genuine survivor - a timber-framed building where the medieval wool merchants and craftspeople of Poundstock once met and conducted their business. It's genuinely unusual, the sort of thing that makes you stand about for longer than you'd expect photographing stonework and timber joinery.

This is squarely for the history-minded visitor rather than those after bells and whistles. There's no visitor centre, no gift shop, no dramatic views. What you get is authenticity and a real sense of how a small Cornish community organised itself centuries back. Allow 45 minutes to an hour if you're properly interested, less if you're just passing through.

The location works well if you're camping at Wooda Farm Holiday Park or Pencuke Farm - both excellent bases - and want to break up beach time with something inland. Bude itself is close enough for a rainy afternoon visit when the coast gets battered. Bring a torch if you go in winter; the interior's properly dark.