National Trust - Chedworth Roman Villa

The hypocaust system is what gets you first - those clever stone pillars that once piped hot air under the villa's floors, still visible nearly two thousand years on. Chedworth Roman Villa sits in a wooded valley near Hazleton and is one of Britain's most substantial Romano-British sites, with enough mosaics, bath suites and everyday objects to genuinely grab your attention for a solid two hours.

You're walking through someone's actual home from around 350 AD. The mosaics are proper impressive - geometric patterns in ochres and reds - and the communal baths suggest the owners were serious money. It's not just the grand bits though. Finding coins, pottery shards and a stone phallus (apparently a good luck charm) scattered around reminds you that real people lived and worked here, cooked meals, complained about the weather.

History enthusiasts will absolutely get their money's worth. Families with under-tens might find it a bit static - there's not much hands-on stuff, and Victorian museum displays aren't everyone's cup of tea. Teenagers who've done Latin at school tend to light up though. Allow at least ninety minutes, longer if you're reading every placard.

Better to visit midweek if possible. The car park fills up on summer weekends. There's a decent little café on site. If you're staying at Bourton-on-the-Water Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite or Coxhorne Glamping nearby, this slots nicely into a Cotswolds loop - it's the sort of thing that improves a park holiday rather than being a day-trip destination on its own.