Brook Gallery

Brook Gallery sits in Exmouth, a seaside town that's seen better days but still pulls families to its beach and promenade. The gallery itself is a small operation - the kind of place you might wander into to escape a rainy afternoon or to kill an hour between fish and chips and the arcade. It showcases contemporary work from local and regional artists, with rotating exhibitions that lean towards paintings, prints, and occasional sculpture.

Unless you're a keen collector or genuinely interested in what the South West art scene is producing right now, you probably won't linger long. Most visitors spend 30 to 45 minutes here. It's free entry, which removes any sting if you're only half committed to the visit. The space feels intimate rather than grand - there's an honesty to that, at least.

For families with young kids staying at Haven Devon Cliffs or Ladram Bay just down the road, it's more of a rainy-day backup than a destination in itself. Teenagers might actually find something to look at if the current exhibition catches their eye. Art students and practising painters will probably get more from it than casual tourists.

Exmouth itself isn't Seaside Tradition central, but it's real and unpretentious. The beach works, the pubs are decent, and there's enough here to justify a long weekend without needing every attraction to be spectacular. Brook Gallery is part of that fabric - low-key, local, worth a quick visit if you're already in town.