St Wilfrid's Cowplain

The church sits quietly on the edge of Cowplain, a few miles inland from Emsworth, and it's one of those places that rewards the small effort it takes to find it. St Wilfrid's is a proper medieval church - Saxon origins, though what you see today is mostly Norman and later medieval work. The chancel and nave are straightforward and solid, the kind of building that's been doing its job for a thousand years without fuss.

Inside, there's enough to keep church history types genuinely engaged - medieval window tracery, old monuments, and that particular smell of stone and candles that never gets old. It's not a showstopper like some cathedral, but that's rather the point. This is the real thing: a working parish church that locals actually use, not a museum piece.

You can usually get in during daylight hours, and admission is free. Allow half an hour unless you're really into medieval masonry, in which case bring a notebook. It works well as a quiet stop during a broader walk around the area - pair it with a visit to nearby Emsworth on the coast, or use it as a breather between the glamping sites at The Old Dairy Farm or Wallops Wood.

Families with older kids who don't mind a bit of history will find it interesting. Younger children might get bored after ten minutes, to be honest. What it is, though, is authentic - no gift shop, no ropes, just a church doing what it's done since medieval times.