Sibsey Wood

The windmill dominates the landscape the moment you spot it - a proper red-brick tower that's been grinding corn since 1877. Sibsey Wood's six-sailed mill is one of only a handful left in England with its original sails intact, and it's the kind of industrial relic that stops you in your tracks if you're driving through the Lincolnshire fens.

Inside, the machinery is all there: cogs, belts, grinding stones. The whole thing feels genuinely Victorian, no polished-up museum gloss. You get a real sense of what it took to run one of these. History types and anyone with an interest in working mills will find it absorbing - you can actually see how it all functioned rather than just read about it behind glass.

If you're staying at Spire View Meadow near Lincoln - just five miles away - it's worth a morning's detour. Allow an hour, maybe ninety minutes if you're the sort who reads every placard. The location's fairly remote, surrounded by fens and flatness, which adds to the appeal if you're after proper countryside rather than manicured gardens.

The downside? There's not a great deal around it, so you won't want to build a whole day trip round it unless you're combining it with other local attractions. Kids under about ten might find the interior a bit static. Go midweek if you can - weekends can feel a touch crowded for a working mill.