St. Mary The Virgin Church, Long Preston

Walk into Long Preston village and St. Mary The Virgin sits there, solid and dignified, with the kind of stone walls that have been standing since medieval times. The church itself dates back to the 12th century, though what you see now is largely 15th-century work - the sort of Yorkshire parish church that rewards a proper look round rather than a quick photo from the gate.

Inside, there's decent tracery in the windows and the usual run of memorials that tell you something about who mattered round here over the centuries. It's the kind of place where you can sit in a pew for five minutes and actually hear yourself think, which feels increasingly rare. The setting is genuinely pleasant - the churchyard has a few trees and the whole thing feels properly integrated into the village rather than isolated and forgotten.

For architecture enthusiasts, it's worth the detour. Family groups won't get hours out of it, but if you're walking in the area - and Long Preston sits nicely between Clitheroe and the limestone hills - it's a natural stop. Twenty minutes inside, another ten in the churchyard if the weather's decent.

Based at one of the nearby glamping spots like Peaks and Pods or Hedgerow Luxury Glamping, this village church gives you a flavour of rural North Yorkshire without the tourist crowds. Free entry, so no worries about cost. Just check locally for opening times.