Worship the wilderness

There are divine rural churches tucked deep in the countryside across Britain. For peace by water, walk to eglwys bach y mor* (the little church in the sea) which stands alone on the tidal island of Cribinau, just off the Isle of Anglesey Coast Path. When built in the 12th century this church to St Cwyfan was on a peninsula, but it was severed by the sea and now you can only cross at low tide. On the Pembrokeshire shore near Bosherston, a tiny stone chapel to the 6th century hermit St Govan* seems to grow organically from the rocky cliffside. (It’s on the Castlemartin Range; check firing times on 01646 662367 or at www.gov.uk/government/publications/castlemartinfiring-notice--2).

For an upland escape, Brent Tor on the western edge of Dartmoor is topped by the Church of St Michael de Rupe.* Said to be the highest working church in England, its crenellated tower is a landmark from miles around, which means views from it stretch over miles of wild moor too. Or for a cosier setting, there’s St Oswald’s* at Widford, tucked into the Windrush Valley in Oxfordshire’s Cotswolds.

Many of Britain’s remote churches are tiny, although the title of smallest is disputed. The Guinness Book of Records lists Bremilham on a farm near Malmesbury in Wiltshire as the smallest ‘in use’. It has one service a year in its 11 by 13 foot space which, according to Rev. Malcolm Ross, “can only accommodate at most 10 people, or if they’re very friendly 20.” Culbone church*, in Exmoor woodlands on the South West Coast Path, is billed as England’s smallest parish church but is spacious in comparison, with a nave measuring 12 x 21 feet and seats for 30. And Conwy’s St Trillo’s also has a tiny, tiny church, tucked into the seafront promenade in Rhos-on-Sea. * Find free maps and guides to these walks at www.lfto.com/bonusroutes