Where is it? In the centre of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
How much? Free to get in, but with a suggested donation of £3.50
Who owns it? The Church of England
Weblink: http://www.stedscathedral.co.uk/

What is it?
It's a Cathedral. But before that it was, believe it or not, the parish church of St James, one of the churches built into the precinct of the Bury St Edmunds Abbey (now ruins). When the new Diocese of Edmundsbury and Ipswich was formed in 1914, St James’s became the Cathedral Church. People carried on whacking on various bits to it to make it more Cathedralesque, culminating in a new tower; a millennium project completed in 2005.

Value For Money * * * *
It's free, which is a good start. Although I'm usually happy to make a donation, in my opinion there's nothing worse than a place of worship that charges admission. You know, the 'voluntary donation' taken off you at the turnstiles on the main door by a clerk? There's plenty of parking in the town, and the cathedral's easy to get to. Access to the cathedral's treasury is also free, albeit with the standard request for a donation, which has an array of trinkets.

Educational Value * * *
You get a little A4 foldy-up plan that takes you around the basic bits of the cathedral (i.e. this is a nave, this is a pulpit). Inside the treasury is an interactive computer point which lets you look at panoramic shots from the top of the tower and gives you a (very) brief rundown on daily life in the cathedral. There's not much history in it though, buy a book or join one of the guided tours for that.

Interest Value * * *
A beautiful and peaceful place to look around, and an interesting treasury section. The computer point is a little disappointing, though. How can you miss out on the chance to expand the story of a saint who got tied to a tree and shot with arrows?!?

There is a restaurant - The Refectory - on the site, but it is a little on the pricey side and on the day of our visit contained most of the senior citizenry of Suffolk, so we gave it a miss.

Overall * * * *
It's a cathedral and it does what a cathedral is supposed to do; provides a serene place of worship. It does this well, being particularly light and airy in comparison to some of the older, more enclosed cathedrals. That said, St Edmundsbury has opened itself up as an attraction and in that sense could do more. It would be nice to know more about this beautiful building and the Saint to whom it is dedicated. All the same, it's a must-see if you're in the area or if you just want to find a place that lets you sit still at your own pace.

Where is it? Just off the A10 near Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire
How much? £4.00 Adults/£1.70 Children for Abbey and Museum
Who owns it? Joint venture between English Heritage and the museum.
Links: www.dennyfarmlandmuseum.org.uk
www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.12022

What is it?
Denny Abbey was originally founded in 1159 as a Benedictine Monastery. It was later used by the Knights Templar as Knightly retirement flats until the order was suppressed in 1308. After the knights had been thrown out, the abbey passed to the Countess of Pembroke who converted part into a house and gave the rest as a convent for the Poor Clare order of nuns of BBC's The Convent fame.

 
In 1539, Henry VIII came along and dissolved the abbey as he was doing throughout the length and breadth of the country, and the buildings passed into use as farm buildings – which they have remained to this day.

 
The site now houses a museum of rural life and farming as well as the reasonably extensive ruins of the abbey, much of which was actually saved by its conversion into housing and farm buildings.

 
Value For Money: * * * * *

The entrance fee covers both the substantial museum and the abbey ruins. A lot for your money.

 
Educational Value: * * * *

If you come out of here and there’s something you still don’t know about farming life in Cambridgeshire, you weren’t reading everything! The museum entertains as well as educates with reconstructed areas and lots of hands on exhibits.

Tucked away in one corner of the site is a fully kitted out Victorian cottage where you can go and see how them country folk really used to live. Very interesting and, again, hands-on stuff for the kids.

The abbey tour is informative, but not quite as enthusiastic as the farm museum. You’ll still learn a lot, but there’s a lot of standing around reading panels. There are some interactive displays for the children (build an arch/stained glass window) but the one about abbey life has had a lot of the pieces pinched!

Interest Value: * * * *

There’s a lot to see and do here. We spent the best part of an hour making the stained glass window, but that probably says more about our glazing skills than anything else! You can easily spend an afternoon at Denny Abbey in the museum alone, and there’s plenty of picnic areas and a café if you want to make a day of it.

Overall: * * * *

Denny Abbey and Farmland Museum does exactly what it says on the label. It’s good, solid hands-on fun which sits neatly between the stuffy everything-in-a-box type of museum and the colourful touch-me-ride-me-feel-me of those little places that think they’re Disneyland. A little bit more on the abbey side wouldn’t have gone amiss but a good day out nevertheless!

Welcome to what? The Good Castle Guide is just a little pet project born from years of frustration struggling to get to some remote 'heritage' site in the middle of nowhere, only to find a brick in a muddy field. As keen English Heritage members, we'll be travelling around historical sites (not just castles!) and posting the results on here. From vast palaces to remote, windswept abbeys we'll be searching for those little hidden gems of days out. And treking miles to the rubbish so you don't have to!

How does it work? Each site is briefly introduced and then rated out of five in the following categories:
 
Value For Money: Is the site worth the asking price? If it's a free site, is it worth the hike to get to?
Educational Value: Are you likely to learn anything here? Will you be able to surreptitiously educate the kids without them realising? Plus points: audio tours, information panels. Negatives: stuffy little 'museums', one faded map in the corner.
Interest Value: Is this site going to keep you busy for hours, or are you just going to stick your nose in?
Overall Rating: Out of five stars. This is our overall impression of the site.

GOLD: This site has it all. It's the bee's knees! Well worth a visit
SILVER: Again, a high scoring site and worth dropping in to. Just misses out on perfection.
BRONZE: A very good site, just not quite up there with the jaw-droppers.
* * * * * Excellent. Well worth parting with a few pounds or hours.
* * * * Good.  A competent site, worth a look.
* * * Fair. Drop in if you're close by but don't go too far out of your way. 
* * Poor. Probably not much to see or too high an entrance fee.
* Bad. Avoid, really.

So, that's about it. It's a pretty simple idea. I don't claim that this will become a comprehensive list of every tourist attraction in the UK, but who knows...?!