Cheltenham Paint Festival

Street art and contemporary murals take over Cheltenham's walls during this annual festival, turning the town centre into an open-air gallery that shifts and evolves throughout the year. Local and international artists cover everything from building facades to alleyways with bold, colourful work - it's the sort of thing that makes you actually look up while wandering round town instead of heading straight for the high street.

The festival itself happens at specific times (worth checking ahead), but the murals stick around well beyond, so you're not entirely bound to visit during the official dates. It's free to see everything, which is proper refreshing. You'll spend anywhere from an hour to a full afternoon depending on how deep you want to go - some people just catch the big pieces on the main drag, others hunt down every tucka'd-away gem in the side streets.

Walkers and street art enthusiasts will get the most from this. It's not a sit-down attraction, so restless kids might lose interest after a bit, though plenty enjoy the colourful hunt. If you're staying at Cheltenham Racecourse Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite or one of the glamping spots scattered around - Coxhorne or Big Skies are only a couple of miles out - the festival gives you a proper reason to spend an afternoon in town without feeling like you're just shopping.

Cheltenham itself has enough going on beyond the murals to justify the trip, but the Paint Festival is what tips it from "nice day out" to "actually worth planning for."