St Thomas The Martyr Church : Up Holland

The church sits quietly on the edge of Up Holland, a village that feels properly removed from the Skelmersdale sprawl nearby. St Thomas The Martyr is a modest medieval affair - nothing as grand as you'd find in Chester or Lancaster, but that's rather the point. The interior has real character: wooden beams, stone walls that have absorbed centuries of Lancashire weather, and the sort of peace you only get in older churches when nobody's about.

It's worth an hour if you're passing through, less if architecture doesn't move you. The churchyard itself is pleasant for a wander, and you get a genuine sense of what village life would have felt like when this place was actually the centre of the community. Families won't find it thrilling for long - kids will need bribing - but it's the sort of spot that appeals to anyone interested in how English villages worked before everything went suburban.

If you're staying at The Secret Garden Glamping just down the road, this makes a gentle morning walk before breakfast. You can combine it with a potter round Up Holland's lanes, though don't expect chocolate-box views or tea shops. It's real village Lancashire, not packaged for tourists. Free to visit, naturally. Check opening hours locally as there's no guarantee what day the door will be unlocked.