St Margaret's Church

The church sits on a quiet corner just outside Bideford, its stone walls catching the afternoon light in that particular way Devon churches do. St Margaret's isn't the sort of place that'll keep you for hours - it's a straightforward medieval building with the kind of solid English charm that doesn't need to shout about itself.

Inside, you'll find the usual suspects: carved pews, a decent font, and windows that let the weather in through their age. What makes it worth a stop is the sense of real use - this is still a working parish church, not a museum piece. The graveyard's pleasant enough for a wander if you're into that sort of thing, with some proper old headstones tilted at angles that tell their own story.

It's genuinely free to pop in, and you'll need perhaps twenty minutes unless you're the type to sit and read every inscription. Families with young kids won't find much to occupy them here, but walkers exploring the Bideford area will appreciate the stop. If you're based at Braddicks Holiday Park just up the road, or fancying something from Owl Valley Glamping nearby, St Margaret's makes a decent circuit walk combined with a proper poke around the town itself.

Go on a dry day if possible - the light through those old windows is lovely then, and the graveyard paths aren't quite so muddy.