St Michael’s Church, Laxton

The church sits in the middle of Laxton village like something from a different century - which, technically, it is. St Michael's is a proper medieval parish church with a tower that's been keeping watch over the same stretch of Nottinghamshire countryside since Norman times. You'll find it unremarkable at first glance: stone walls, pointed windows, the usual ecclesiastical bits. But that's rather the point.

Laxton itself is the draw here. This is England's last surviving open-field village, still farmed using medieval strip-farming methods. Walk around and you're actually looking at how agriculture worked 800 years ago - three massive fields subdivided into long strips, each worked independently. The church anchors this living museum, and stepping inside gives you the measure of what mattered to people living this precarious existence.

The interior's modest compared to grander Nottinghamshire churches, but there's real character: an old font, some decent brasses, and the kind of accumulated quiet that only buildings used continuously for nine centuries manage. The churchyard has decent views across the open fields - the actual reason to come.

History enthusiasts will get genuine value here. Families with older kids might appreciate the oddness of the place. Casual visitors? Honestly, you'd spend fifteen minutes inside and another twenty walking the fields. It's not a destination on its own, but if you're based at Orchard Park or Greenacres nearby Newark way, it's a compelling afternoon detour. Free admission, no faffing about with opening hours - just turn up. Worth the short drive.