St Mary the Virgin Church

The church sits on the high street in Amersham, a proper medieval structure that's been doing its job for centuries. St Mary the Virgin has that worn-in quality you get from generations of worship - stone worn smooth by centuries of hands, windows that tell stories if you know how to read them. Inside, you'll find the usual ecclesiastical fixtures: pews, a chancel, monuments to local worthies whose names have mostly faded into obscurity. The real appeal here is architectural. This is Buckinghamshire history in brick and flint, and it's free to walk in and have a look around.

It's worth a quiet half-hour if you're into medieval churches or just fancy somewhere peaceful to sit and think. Amersham itself is a pleasant enough market town with pubs and shops, so you could easily combine a church visit with lunch or a proper wander around. The high street's worth exploring anyway - good mix of independent places and the kind of town that hasn't been completely hollowed out by chains.

If you're camping nearby - Lights Camera Glamping is just over a mile away, or Hill Farm and Orchard at 2.6 miles - the church makes sense as a stop-off on a Sunday morning walk through town. It won't take long, it costs nothing, and there's no faffing about with opening hours if you're in the area anyway. Not a destination in itself, but exactly the sort of thing that rounds out a decent day in the Chilterns.