Wolsingham Baptist Church

The red-brick chapel sits quietly on the high street in Wolsingham, a few miles west of Bishop Auckland, looking very much like it has for the past 150-odd years. It's a proper Baptist place of worship - nothing flashy, no tourist machinery, just a working church that locals actually use on Sundays. The interior is straightforward Victorian nonconformist style: decent wooden pews, a simple pulpit, stained glass that catches the light without showing off. You can usually pop in during daylight hours if the doors are open, though it's worth ringing ahead or checking with the church office to arrange a proper look around.

This isn't a destination you'd drive an hour to see on its own merits. What it is, though, is a solid piece of local religious history if you're the sort who finds that interesting - the kind of place that tells you more about working-class Victorian faith than any grand cathedral ever could. If you're staying at Kingfisher Holiday Park or Bradley Burn Caravan Park nearby, both within two miles, it's an easy stroll through the village and worth twenty minutes of your time. Same goes if you're based at Greenfoot Holiday Home Park further out.

Historians of nonconformism and anyone genuinely interested in 19th-century chapel culture will find it worthwhile. Kids will get bored fairly quickly unless they're into church architecture. Allow half an hour maximum if you're being thorough, longer if you chat to whoever opens up - locals are usually chatty.