Statue Of Liberty

You'll find this unexpected American icon standing in Leicester, a rather brilliant bit of Americana plonked into the East Midlands. It's a full-scale replica of the famous New York statue, complete with torch and tablet, and it genuinely stops you in your tracks when you round the corner. The thing is genuinely impressive up close - you get the detail work, the scale of it all, and that slightly surreal feeling of encountering Lady Liberty miles from Manhattan and about 3,000 miles off course.

It's free to view from street level, though you won't be climbing inside like you would in New York - this is a look-and-photograph sort of affair. Worth five minutes on a walk around Leicester's city centre, especially if you're the type to collect oddball photo opportunities. Kids find it amusing rather than riveting, so don't expect them to linger unless they're genuinely into monuments.

If you're basing yourselves at Green Acres Caravan Park or Bradgate Park nearby, it's a straightforward drive into Leicester town for a quick visit. Pair it with proper exploring in Bradgate Park itself - that's where you'll spend the real time, wandering the 850-odd acres and spotting red deer. The statue works as a quick urban pit-stop between park visits, nothing more. Open year-round, best visited mid-week when Leicester's quieter.