Town School & Old Union Sunday School

Two stone buildings standing side by side just outside Wakefield, both telling different chapters of how working-class children learned their letters. The Town School dates back to the 1800s, when education was something you had to fight for, and the Old Union Sunday School next to it reminds you that learning often happened on the one day off most families got. Walking round them now, you can almost hear the scrape of slate pencils and the drone of recitation.

These aren't grand structures with velvet ropes and tour guides - they're proper working buildings that have been patched up and preserved because locals cared enough to keep them standing. History buffs will appreciate the architectural details and what they represent about industrialising Yorkshire. Families with older kids interested in the past will find them genuinely thought-provoking rather than heavy-handed.

You won't need more than an hour here, and it's the sort of stop that makes sense if you're already exploring the Wakefield area rather than a destination in itself. The nearest touring parks - Broadlands Farm (barely two miles away) and Mapplewell Meadows Farm (six miles) - make it a realistic add-on to a caravan holiday. Go on a weekday morning if you can, when the light's best on the stonework and you might actually get someone to unlock things for you. Worth half an hour of your time if you're staying nearby.