St Paul's

The drive out to St Paul's in Colton, just outside York, takes you through proper Yorkshire countryside - rolling fields and stone walls that make you remember why you came north in the first place. This is a working parish church, not some museum piece behind ropes, which changes the whole experience.

Inside, you get the usual English church fixtures - wooden pews, a decent bell tower, and that specific smell that every country church seems to share. It's not flashy. The appeal here is straightforward: if you're into ecclesiastical architecture or keen on visiting the lesser-known parish churches that dot the region, this one's worth the detour from York. The setting itself is rural and quiet, the kind of place where you can actually hear yourself think.

Truth is, you won't spend hours here. Twenty minutes if you're lingering. It works best as a gentle stop during a longer walk around the area rather than a destination in itself. Families with young kids might find it a bit static unless they're already interested in churches.

If you're staying at Wighill Park Glamping or York South Ltd's holiday lodges nearby, this fits neatly into a morning ramble through the Colton villages before heading back for lunch. Free to visit, obviously. The real draw of this corner of North Yorkshire isn't any single building - it's the slow, quiet landscape between York and the Wolds. St Paul's is part of that rhythm, not the reason you'd make the trip.