Swaffham Bulbeck Benedictine Priory

The ruins of what was once a thriving Benedictine monastery sit quietly on the edge of Swaffham Bulbeck, just a few miles east of Cambridge. What remains today are fragments of stonework and earthworks - enough to sketch out where the monks lived and prayed, but you'll need to use your imagination to picture the place in its 12th-century heyday.

It's not a dramatic ruin like Tintern or Glastonbury. This is more intimate, more personal. You can walk the grounds and work out where the cloister would have been, where the refectory stood. If you're the type who finds satisfaction in reading a landscape - in understanding how medieval life actually worked - then an hour here is time well spent. Families with younger children might find it a bit thin on the ground for holding attention, though it's certainly free and accessible.

The site sits within easy reach of Cambridge's museums and colleges if you're basing yourself at one of the local glamping spots like Lodeside or Fen Meadows. You could tackle it as a morning walk before heading into the city proper, or pair it with a cycle around the Cam Valley. The surrounding fens are proper cycling country, which is worth factoring in if you've got bikes at your accommodation.

There's no visitor centre or facilities to speak of, so go prepared. Best visited in decent weather when the ground isn't waterlogged - this is fenland, after all. It won't take long, but it's exactly the sort of quiet, contemplative spot that makes East Anglia's history feel real rather than museum-bound.