Sts Mawnan & Stephen's Church

The walk down to Mawnan churchyard takes you through proper woodland - the kind where light filters through in strips and you can hear the creek babbling below. Sts Mawnan & Stephen's Church sits on a slope overlooking the Helford Passage, and it's been standing guard over this corner of Cornwall since medieval times.

Inside, you'll find the usual village church setup - pews, a font, some brasses on the walls - but the real draw is the location. The churchyard itself is worth lingering in. There are old graves tucked among the yews, and on a clear day you get views down to the water. It's the sort of spot where you understand why people chose to build something here centuries ago.

This works best for walkers combining it with the surrounding woodland trails, or anyone interested in medieval Cornwall without the crowds you'd hit at bigger churches near Truro. The walk from the road is steep enough that you won't get casual drop-in visitors clogging the place up. Allow half an hour here if you're just visiting the church, longer if you're exploring the grounds properly.

If you're basing yourself at Stay Wild - EnSuite Camping & Glamping (about six miles away), this makes a decent half-day outing combined with walks through the Helford Valley. It's not spectacular, but it's genuinely peaceful and the woodland setting makes it worth the detour.