Sham Castle

Bath's skyline gets a curious addition once you climb Bathampton Down - a folly so absurd it's almost charming. Sham Castle isn't actually a castle at all, just a theatrical stone facade built in the 1760s to look impressive from the city below. Someone with money and questionable taste decided Bath needed a fake ruined castle on the horizon, and here we are.

It's a proper climb up from the city, forty minutes or so on foot depending on your pace. The reward isn't the structure itself - it's genuinely underwhelming up close, a bit of stonework that's held up better than you'd expect - but the views across Bath and the surrounding valleys are genuinely worth the leg work. On a clear day you can see for miles.

Walkers will find this fits perfectly into a longer route across Bathampton Down, where you get proper countryside despite being minutes from the city centre. History buffs might enjoy the odd story of Georgian eccentricity, though there's not much to see or interpret on site. Kids might find the climb tedious unless they're into peaks and vistas.

Free to visit, obviously - it's just sitting on open ground. Early morning or late afternoon light makes the stone glow rather nicely if you're bothering with photos. If you're staying at Widbrook Barns nearby, this makes a reasonable half-day excursion to break up a park holiday, though honestly the walk matters more than the destination.