Stoke Bruerne Cricket Club

You won't stumble upon Stoke Bruerne Cricket Club by accident - it's tucked away in a proper village setting near Towcester, the kind of place where cricket still means something. This is a working cricket ground, not a museum piece, so what you get depends entirely on when you visit. During the season, you might catch a match on a Saturday afternoon, which is absolutely worth timing your park holiday around if you're any sort of cricket enthusiast. The ground itself has that understated English charm - well-maintained pitch, modest pavilion, the sort of place where families still bring blankets and flasks.

Really only for cricket fans, to be honest. If you're not bothered about the sport, there's not much to occupy you for more than half an hour, and that's being generous. But for anyone who wants to watch proper village cricket without the faffing about of county grounds, this delivers. The atmosphere is genuinely community-focused - players you might chat to in the pub afterwards, spectators who've been coming for decades.

If you're staying at any of the nearby caravan parks - The Home Farm CL is practically on the doorstep, while Blisworth Park and Kirkely Meadows are within easy reach - timing a weekend visit around a home fixture makes for a decent afternoon out. Check ahead for the fixture list; there's not much point turning up on a Tuesday in May. Admission details aren't widely publicised, so ringing ahead is your best bet.