Arriving in Oldbury-on-Severn, a pretty village of about 800 people set on the banks of the River Severn, you get an instant sense of community.

Coming into the village you pass St Arilda’s Church, perched magnificently on the hill with sweeping views of the landscape and the river. Find out what’s special about St Arilda’s Church and the nearby St Mary’s ‘tin tabernacle’ in our video.

Just inside the town, The Anchor pub – a lovely traditional stone-built pub with a large garden – greets you, and opposite this is Thornbury Sailing Club where you can learn to sail on Oldbury Pill.

Further down, on the left, you come to a tidy wooden building purpose-built as a community shop. The shop is run entirely by volunteers and stocks a range of local produce and household necessities. It also operates as a café, offering tea and coffee in cups bearing a portrait of the Queen.

Tucked away behind the houses on Camp is Oldbury’s best kept secret – an enigmatic series of ancient banks and ditches known locally as the Toot. Although the site is a scheduled ancient monument, very little is known about its origins or purpose. As part of A Forgotten Landscape, volunteers used archaeological techniques to help uncover the site’s history. Read all about the Big Dig here.

Don’t miss

• Birdwatching on the silt lagoons of Oldbury Power Station, a high tide roost for up to 200 different species of birds
• The two AFL walking routes which start at Oldbury or this six-mile circular walk incorporating part of the Severn Way