The Holy Well of Saint Anne

A spring bubbling up from the chalk beneath Oxfordshire has drawn the faithful and the curious for centuries. The Holy Well of Saint Anne sits tucked away from the main roads, its waters said to possess healing properties that kept pilgrims trudging here long before the National Health Service existed. What you'll find is modest - a small stone structure marking the source, surrounded by the kind of quiet that makes you understand why medieval people thought it sacred.

History buffs will get the most from a visit here, particularly if you're interested in folk religion and how ordinary people's beliefs shaped the landscape. It's not a spectacular sight in the Instagram sense, but there's something genuinely moving about standing at a place where hope has pooled for nearly a thousand years. The walk to reach it is pleasant enough if you're staying locally, though it's not a destination in itself.

If you're based at Swiss Farm Touring and Camping near Reading, you could combine this with the wider Oxfordshire countryside - it works as a quiet morning detour rather than a day's focus. Allow an hour maximum for the well itself, including the approach. Free to visit, no facilities or opening hours to worry about. Go when the weather's reasonable; there's nothing keeping you dry once you're out there. Honestly, it's the kind of place that rewards a contemplative temperament far more than it rewards Instagram tourists.