St Mary's Church, Orston

The church sits quietly on the edge of Orston village, a modest medieval structure that catches you off guard with how much character it's managed to hold onto. St Mary's is a proper working parish church - the kind where you'll find locals arranging flowers on a Tuesday morning rather than tour groups with clipboards.

Inside, there's real medieval stonework and some decent wall paintings if you know where to look. The building's been through centuries of patching and prayer, which shows in the slightly wonky arches and the way nothing quite lines up perfectly. It's not going to blow your mind if you're a serious church architecture enthusiast, but for a casual wander through local history, it does the job well enough.

The walk here from Nottingham's surprisingly straightforward - Orston's only a few miles out - and if you're staying at Janson Fishery Caravan & Camping nearby, this makes an easy afternoon potter. Allow half an hour maximum, unless you're the type who needs to sit quietly in pews for a bit. Families with young kids will find it atmospheric rather than exciting, but older children interested in medieval England won't find it a waste of time.

Go on a clear day when the light comes through properly. The churchyard itself is worth wandering, peaceful and full of old gravestones. It's the sort of place that reminds you why people bothered building these things in the first place - genuinely calming.