St Bernardine's Church

The church sits quietly on the edge of Buckingham, a red-brick Victorian structure that catches you slightly off guard with its unexpected grandeur. Built in the 1880s, St Bernardine's is a proper Catholic church - something of a rarity in this part of Buckinghamshire - and it's got the soaring interior to prove it. High ceilings, decent stained glass, and that particular hush you only get in working parish churches.

It's free to visit, naturally, and you can usually pop in during daylight hours without faffing about with opening times. Allow yourself 20 minutes, maybe 30 if the light's good and you're the type who reads every inscription. Families won't find much to occupy children beyond five minutes, but if you're into Victorian church architecture or keen on the quieter corners of religious heritage, you'll get something out of it.

The real value here is as a gentle pause during a broader walk around Buckingham itself. None of the nearby campsites - Hedgehog Retreat, Barton Hill Farm, or the cluster around Silverstone Woodlands - are more than five miles away, so it slots in easily if you're based locally and fancy a bit of gentle pottering. It's not a destination in itself, but it's the kind of place that rewards a curious detour. The sort of building that reminds you there's more to rural England than just the obvious attractions.