Stamford (England)

This was built in the 12th century and known as "St Martin's Without" as it was beyond the town wall. It was rebuilt in Perpendicular style in the 15th century and re-modelled in the 19th, so at first glance it looks Victorian. It contains tombs of the Cecil family, including Sir William who built Burghley House, and of the enormous Daniel Lambert. It's Anglican, with services on Sunday at 9:30AM, and sometimes used as a concert venue.

began in the 12th century in St Mary's Church, moving east onto St Paul's Rd in the 16th. It's near Greyfriars Gatehouse and you can peek through the entrance at the oldest part, the former St Paul's Church.

at the junction of A6121 and A1175 is the only surviving part of Greyfriars Franciscan friary, established in 1230 and suppressed in 1534. Richard Duke of York spent two nights here in 1476 but little cared, as he'd died 12 years earlier at the Battle of Wakefield and was being conveyed for re-burial at Fotheringhay. The land is now part of Stamford & Rutland Hospital.

The Priory was re-established around 1082 under William the Conqueror, on the site of a 7th century monastery destroyed in the 11th. It was a "cell" - an outpost - of Durham cathedral monastery until both were dissolved in 1538. What you see now is the exterior of the bricked-up nave, rebuilt in the 19th century, with a fine west front. Other remnants are buried below the present ground level.

Grand 16th-century "prodigy house": Queen Elizabeth I and her courtiers toured the country, and her nobles vied to construct bling palaces suitable for receiving them all. This example was built 1558-1587 by Sir William Cecil her Lord High Treasurer, and the Cecil family still live here. The Elizabethan exterior is little altered, but the interior was re-modelled in the 18th century and stocked with industrial quantities of Italian artwork. There are also fine collections of furniture and porcelain. The parkland (open all year) was laid out by Capability Brown and nowadays includes a modern sculpture garden and "Garden of Surprises", which proved too surprising for some visitors so they've turned off the water features. The house and gardens are often used as film and TV locations so check ahead for closures around this.

is a small village 3½ miles southeast of Stamford. The parish church is Anglo-Saxon. Findings from a Bronze Age burial chamber are in the British Museum in London. The "Hills and Holes" are ancient limestone quarries, abandoned and overgrown from 1500 AD, and now a National Nature Reserve.

This small 15th-century rectory contains a history exhibition, especially on the local slate industry. It was built for John Stokes - he was brother-in-law to William Browne, and oversaw the completion of the Hospital when Browne died. It's managed by the National Trust but usually unstaffed - a sign on the door lists nearby key-holders. The rectory later moved to the much grander Glebe House (now a private residence), birthplace of Captain Lancelot Skynner (1766–1799). His ship HMS Lutine was lost with all aboard off the Friesian Islands, with a fabulous cargo of gold that has never been found. Salvage attempts recovered the ship's bell, and this "Lutine Bell" is rung at Lloyd's of London to mark major events.

This 18th century building hosts a 166-seat theatre-cinema, a gallery, cellar bar, a cafe and a large ballroom. Other multifunctional rooms are available to hire. The town tourist office is also based here.

Swimming is on the pool at Drift Rd north side of town, open daily.

The Victorian Corn Exchange is now a community-run 400-seat theatre. The staple fare is tribute bands.

Established 1890 in the Capability Brown park, a round off white tees is 6312 yards, par 70.

The Hall is a private (mostly Victorian) residence but they host this theatre, with the audience under cover, but the actors enduring whatever the English summer throws at them. The resident troupe is Stamford Shakespeare Company and they usually put on two Shakespeare and one or two other plays. Lashing rain is what you might hope for in Macbeth or King Lear, but within a Victorian salon in The Importance of Being Earnest it redefines theatrical boundaries.

These are a series of flooded gravel pits. They have water skiing, wakeboarding, jet skiing, dinghy sailing, windsurfing and canoeing, a dry ski slope, and a 15 metre climbing tower. There's also a camping and caravan park, open Mar-Jan.