St Mary's

The walk up to St Mary's from Northampton town centre takes you through proper medieval streets, and when you round the corner, the church just stops you dead. It's a cracking example of Decorated Gothic - all soaring stonework and stained glass that's survived centuries of English weather.

Inside, the vaulting is what gets you. High ceilings, intricate tracery, and windows that flood the nave with light. You can spend a good twenty minutes just looking up, tracing the stone ribs from one pillar to the next. The choir stalls are particularly fine - carved wood from the medieval period with details you'd miss on a quick visit.

This isn't a tourist trap church. It's working parish space, which means you'll catch proper silence here. Families with older kids who can appreciate architecture will find plenty to absorb. Younger ones might get bored after a quarter hour unless someone explains the stories in the windows.

Free to enter, though you'd be mean not to pop something in the donation box. Allow thirty to forty minutes if you're actually looking rather than just ticking it off. If you're based at Grendon Lakes for a park holiday - five miles south - it's an easy drive into town and worth combining with a wander around Northampton's medieval core. Come on a weekday morning when it's quietest.