St Paul's Parish Church, Charlestown

The church sits right in Charlestown itself, a working port village that hasn't changed much in two centuries. Inside, it's surprisingly spacious - all pale stone and high ceilings, with the kind of peaceful quiet you only get in old churches when there's no service on. The windows let in proper Cornish light, and there are some decent monuments dotted about if you're into that sort of thing.

It's worth a quick visit if you're staying at one of the nearby parks - East Crinnis is barely twenty minutes' walk away, and The Meadows or Pentewan Sands aren't much further. You won't need more than thirty minutes here, honestly, but it's a good excuse to wander down into the village itself, which has a working harbour and a couple of decent pubs. Kids won't find it thrilling for long, but it's free and it breaks up a beach day nicely.

The real appeal is that it anchors the village - you can't visit Charlestown without noticing it, and stepping inside gives you a sense of what life was like here when the china clay industry was booming. Pair it with a harbour walk and lunch, and you've got an hour well spent. Just don't expect anything flashy or touristy. This is the real thing.