Thirteen miles northeast of Yosemite, Bodie State Historic Park is a genuine California gold-mining ghost town that once had a population of 10,000 and a reputation as “the wickedest town in the west”. Its fortunes were transformed from a hamlet of 20 people when, in 1877, a prospector struck gold. Only part of the town survives, preserved in a state of “arrested decay”, meaning no shops, campsites or souvenir stalls.

• Details: 001 760 647 6445, www.bodie.net, www.parks.ca.gov

  Tyneham, Dorset

• Tyneham, near Lulworth, was commandeered by the Army in the 1940s for D-Day preparations, and never given back after victory. Wardens are on hand to tell visitors about the early 19th-century houses, church and the school that is still set up as if for a class in the 1930s. Open most weekends, and daily during the summer holidays.

• Details: 01929 552740, www.purbeck-dc.gov.uk

  Tip Top, Arizona

• Tip Top, in south-central Arizona, was settled in 1875 as a silver mining town and was home to a school, two general stores, six saloons, two restaurants, a Chinese laundry, a blacksmith, a butcher, and a shoe shop. When silver prices dropped, the Tip Top mine closed, and by 1895 the town no longer existed. Today ruins and foundations are all that remain.

• Details: 001 602 364 3700, www.swlink.net/~pjcat/ghost.html; also www.arizonaguide.com

  Macetown, New Zealand

• In 1862 gold was found at Twelve Mile, sparking a rush to what became known later as Macetown, in Central Otago, now a popular destination for mountain bikers and hikers. Macetown boasted hotels, a post office and a school, but when the gold ran out, so did its inhabitants. Now all that remains are the old schoolmaster’s house and bakery, plus a few wooden shacks.

• Details: New Zealand Tourist Board (0906-910 1010, www.purenz.com)

  Kayakoy, Turkey

• The abandoned town of Kayakoy (or Karmylassos), ten miles from Fethiye, dates back to the 15th century, but was abandoned when its Greek inhabitants left Turkey after the 1923 population-exchange agreement between the two neighbouring countries. Later, several earthquakes, especially in 1957, damaged the buildings extensively; they remain empty to this day.

• Details: Turkish Tourist Board (020- 7629 7771, www.gototurkey.co.uk)

  Almeria, Spain

• Many Spaghetti Westerns were shot in Almeria, so if you want to see a “real fake” Wild West town, complete with the meanest, nastiest hombres this side of Torremolinos, head to Mini Hollywood near Tabernas. Many of the people who work there now were extras in the movies that were made in the town. For something a little more authentic in the region, you can find groups of abandoned cortijos (farmhouses) in the beautiful El Cabo de Gata Natural Park.