All Saints Church

If you're looking for a comfortable and affordable place to stay in the heart of rural Suffolk, and you're also looking for something a little bit different, an overnight stay in All Saints Church, Laxfield, could be just the thing. Part of the Church's brilliant 'champing' scheme, this evocative 15th-century building is available for overnight stays for groups of up to four, and you couldn't be more comfortable than bedding down in its impressive singe-aisled nave, which is one of the widest in East Anglia. The church comes with a loo and well-appointed kitchen and there's a pub literally next door – the brilliant King's Head, or 'Low House' as it's more often known locally, whose wood-panelled rooms and lack of a bar make it one of Suffolk's most cosy and historic pubs.

The church itself boasts a lot of original medieval features, including a richly carved interior – much of the decoration on the box pews are thought to have been carved by sailors returning from the South Seas. Other carvings, such as the green men and grotesques on the west door, are probably meant to ward off evil, so you should safe when you're tucked up in bed at night! Laxfield's unusual font is also worth a look, an octagonal font from around 1500, depicting the seven sacraments as well as the baptism of Christ.

Above all, it's a privilege to be able to explore the building and all these features in your own time – just another perk of staying at All Saints. The others are the glorious countryside that surrounds the church, and the miles of walking paths and trails by which you can explore it, and of course th very tempting proximity to the beautiful Suffolk Coast – the resorts of Southwold and Walberswick are only half an hour away, and the buzzy local town of Halesworth is just a 10-15-minute drive.