St Michael's Church, Farnsfield

The tower of St Michael's rises above the village of Farnsfield like a proper marker on the landscape - you can spot it from the Newark road before you even reach the place. It's a working parish church, which means you won't find the fussy roped-off feeling of some medieval buildings; people still worship here, still walk these aisles on Sunday mornings.

What you get inside is solid Nottinghamshire church architecture, the kind of honest stonework and timber that speaks more through its simplicity than any gilded excess. The tower itself is worth the trip if you're into that sort of thing - medieval engineering that's held up rather well over the centuries. Families with older kids who have an actual interest in medieval bits and pieces will get something from an hour here; younger children will get bored within fifteen minutes, if you're being honest.

It's free to visit, though like most village churches, it's sometimes locked outside service times - worth ringing ahead or checking if there's a keyholder listed on the gate. The village itself is quiet, genuinely quiet, the kind of place you'd miss entirely if you weren't looking for it.

For a park holiday in the area, Farnsfield sits between the Sherwood Forest options - Center Parcs is under five miles away, and Sherwood Castle Holiday Forest is six. The church makes a decent stop if you're already exploring the roads around Newark and want to see how village life actually sits rather than just heading for the big attractions. Twenty minutes max here, then onwards.