St Petroc, Trevalga

The church sits alone on the Cornish moor near Bodmin, and it's genuinely remote - you won't stumble on it by accident. St Petroc is a small, medieval affair with thick granite walls that have weathered centuries of Atlantic wind. Inside, the space feels properly ancient. Low ceilings, uneven floors, and that particular smell of old stone and candle wax that you either love or find slightly oppressive.

What draws people here is partly the dedication itself. St Petroc is Cornwall's own saint - he's everywhere in these parts - but this particular church has an unhurried quality that the tourist-heavy ones lose. The churchyard sprawls around it with weathered headstones that tell stories if you're into that sort of thing.

Walkers get the most from a visit here. It's not a destination attraction - you won't spend more than thirty minutes inside - but it works brilliantly as a pause point on a moorland walk. The surrounding landscape is proper Cornish moorland: open, windswept, slightly melancholic in the right light. Families with young children might find it underwhelming unless they're keen on graveyards.

If you're staying at Pencuke Farm Holiday Cottages or Shepherd's Huts nearby, St Petroc makes a good morning excursion. Bring a map though - parking is minimal and the lanes are narrow. Free to enter, and there's rarely anyone about, which is either exactly what you're after or a reason to head somewhere busier.