St Clare

The church of St Clare sits quietly on the edge of Bury Saint Edmunds, a flint-faced medieval building that most visitors to Suffolk seem to rush straight past. Step inside and you'll find yourself in what amounts to a proper time capsule - the sort of place where the plasterwork still bears the marks of Reformation damage, where someone's actually bothered to preserve the grime of centuries rather than sandblast it away.

What makes St Clare worth a detour is its sheer honesty. The wall paintings are fragmentary, yes, but that's rather the point. You can see how they were covered over during the 16th century, then rediscovered centuries later. There's a wall monument or two that hint at the town's medieval wool merchants, the people who actually paid for this building. The flint work outside is particularly good - that mixture of flint and stone that's characteristic of East Anglia.

It's the sort of church that appeals most to anyone with a genuine interest in medieval architecture or local history. Children will probably get restless within twenty minutes unless they're genuinely into spotting medieval graffiti and old stonework. Allow thirty to forty minutes if you're thorough.

If you're staying at Apple Mount Retreat nearby, it's barely four miles away - close enough for a morning visit before heading into Bury Saint Edmunds proper. Admission is free, though opening hours can be irregular, so check locally first. Honestly, it's worth the five-minute detour from the high street.