St Peter's Church, Shaftesbury

The view from St Peter's Church is what makes the trip up Shaftesbury's steep High Street worth the huffing and puffing. You're standing on one of the highest points in town, and on a clear day it's proper rewarding - the Dorset countryside spreads out below like someone's thrown a green blanket across the hills.

This is a working parish church, so expect actual worshippers rather than crowds of daytrippers. The building itself is medieval, though it's been knocked about and rebuilt enough over the centuries that you're not looking at pure 13th-century work. Inside it's straightforward - nothing flashy, just solid stone and the kind of quiet that makes you lower your voice without thinking about it.

History buffs will get more from it than most, though walkers passing through Shaftesbury on the Dorset Way will find it a good landmark to aim for. The real draw is the position. You're literally at the top of the town, which tells you something about medieval thinking - they put churches where they mattered, where people could see them.

If you're staying at Gold Hill Glamping just down the road, it's an easy stroll up. Bring the family if you've got older kids who can handle stairs and aren't expecting anything theme-park-ish. Admission's free as far as anyone's concerned, and there's no daft gift shop. Just a church doing what churches have done here for centuries.