Staunton In The Vale Aviation Memorial

The Aviation Memorial at Staunton in the Vale sits quietly in Nottinghamshire countryside, a few miles south of Newark. It's a proper tribute to the airmen who flew from RAF Staunton during the Second World War - a sobering place that doesn't shout about itself, which somehow makes it more powerful.

You'll find a memorial stone and information panels set into the landscape, marking where the airfield once operated. There's not a vast amount to see in terms of structures - the runways are long gone - but that's part of what makes it affecting. It's the space itself you're standing in, the history soaked into the fields around you. A good twenty minutes here if you're reading the panels properly, longer if you're the type to sit with the details and think.

Walkers will find this worth a detour when they're exploring the flatter terrain around Newark. It's free and accessible, though there's no visitor centre or facilities, so come prepared. Families with older children interested in wartime history will get something from it; younger kids might find it a bit abstract without the physical ruins they expect.

Stay at Witham Grange Glamping just down the road and you can couple this with a walk around the village itself, or push on to explore more of the Nottinghamshire airfield heritage trail. It's not a full afternoon's entertainment, but it's the sort of place that stays with you afterwards.