The Weardale Museum & High House Chapel

In a dales cottage beside High House Chapel — built in 1760, among the oldest Methodist chapels in the world, in a valley where John Wesley himself preached to the lead-mining families — a band of volunteers keeps the memory of upper Weardale alive. There is a period Weardale kitchen with its black range, cases of glittering minerals from the fells, Wesley relics and the small, hard details of lead-mining life. The museum is entirely volunteer-run, open on summer afternoons, and disproportionately moving for its size. The chapel next door has been bought for restoration, and the whole enterprise feels like a village quietly remembering itself.

A community-run museum of real character in England's remote highest dale, attached to one of the world's oldest Methodist chapels — obscure, authentic and worth the drive alone.

• History Lovers
• Hidden Gem
• Learn Something New
• Rainy Day