The Monument

Standing on the edge of Peterborough, The Monument rises from the flat Cambridgeshire landscape like a punctuation mark you didn't expect to find. It's a commemorative structure marking something significant enough that someone thought it deserved permanent recognition - the sort of thing that stops you mid-walk and makes you wonder what happened here.

The Monument works best for history buffs and anyone drawn to the slightly obscure corners of England's past. It won't take long - twenty minutes maximum including a proper look around - but that's rather the point. You're not here to lose a day; you're here to tick off a curiosity on the way to somewhere else.

If you're basing yourself at Ferry Meadows, which frankly is your best bet at a genuinely five-star site just six miles out, The Monument is barely a detour. Nene Outdoors is closer at under six miles if you prefer something smaller and less formal. The Nest Glamping works if you want a bit more comfort without proper hotel faffing.

The Monument fits neatly into a morning's exploring before you head into Peterborough proper or push further into the Nene Valley. Free to look at, naturally - you're just standing outside looking up. Go when the light's decent; there's nothing quite like those golden-hour angles for making sense of why anyone bothered erecting something out here in the first place.