Sutton Bridge Golf Club

Eighteen holes of proper Fenland golf, stretched across flat countryside just outside Wisbech. Sutton Bridge is the kind of course where you'll actually use every club in your bag - wind off the Wash makes distance deceptive, and the drainage ditches aren't there for decoration. It's a members' club first and foremost, but visiting golfers can usually arrange a round through the club or if they're staying at one of the nearby caravan parks.

The course suits mid-to-high handicappers better than complete beginners. You need to know where your ball goes and have decent accuracy - spray it left or right and you're fishing it out of water or tramping through rough. The greens are quick and the fairways properly maintained, which matters when you're paying green fees.

Allow a full four and a half hours minimum, longer if you're playing off the back tees or the wind's turned hostile. The landscape won't wow you - this is Cambridgeshire, after all, all big skies and drainage channels - but that's rather the point. If you're staying at Parklands Holidays or any of the other sites dotted round the area, and you've got a handicap certificate in your bag, it's a solid half-day that beats driving twenty miles to find something flashier.

Best in spring and autumn when the wind settles and you can actually see where your ball lands. Summer can be brutal - the Fenland sun reflects off every puddle and pond.