St Mary the Virgin, Wix

The church sits in a quiet corner of rural Essex, a few miles inland from Clacton-on-Sea. St Mary the Virgin is a proper medieval structure - the sort of place where you half expect to bump into someone from the 14th century round the next pew. The building itself tells the story: there's real history in the stonework, and if churches are your thing, this one rewards a closer look.

It's the kind of visit that works best if you're already in the area staying at one of the holiday parks - Strangers Holiday Park sits just 1.7 miles away, or Malting Farm if you want something with more comfort. You won't spend hours here, but that's not really the point. Twenty minutes to half an hour is enough to walk around, take in the architecture, and get a sense of what village life centred on a thousand years ago.

Walkers and history types will find it worth the detour. Families with restless children? Less so - there's nothing interactive about it, and the appeal is pretty specialist. The village itself is small and quiet, which means the church has kept its character rather than being wrestled into a visitor attraction.

If you're based at one of the parks for a week, pair it with a proper walk through the Essex countryside nearby. It's not dramatic, but it's real - and sometimes that matters more than the famous spots.