Sawston Free Church

The red-brick chapel sitting quietly on Sawston's High Street doesn't announce itself loudly, which is rather the point. This is a proper Free Church - the sort of Independent chapel that would have meant something quite specific to 19th-century nonconformists, though these days it's just a straightforward, unpretentious place of worship.

What you get is Victorian-era architecture done without fuss or expense. The building itself is the attraction here - functional, honest brickwork with the kind of understated character you find in smaller Cambridgeshire settlements. It's the sort of thing architecture types or local history enthusiasts will want to photograph, while casual visitors might give it a quick look if they're exploring the village.

The real value is contextual. If you're camping at Cherry Hinton or the other sites just outside Cambridge, Sawston makes for a worthwhile leg-stretch from the main tourist circuit - you're only three or four miles from the city centre, but it feels genuinely separate. The village has enough character for a proper wander, and the church anchors it as a real community space rather than a theme park version of English life.

Best visited on a weekday afternoon when there's no service on - you'll get the exterior and, if you're lucky, someone will let you peek inside. Don't expect grandeur. Do expect the sort of honest, local detail that makes Cambridgeshire villages worth exploring beyond the colleges and the Backs.