Clarendon Fine Art Bath

Bath's art scene runs deeper than the Roman Baths and Georgian architecture most visitors come for. Clarendon Fine Art sits in the heart of the city, a proper gallery that takes contemporary and traditional work seriously without the stuffiness you might expect. The space itself rewards a wander - it's the sort of place where you'll stumble across something that stops you in your tracks, whether that's a landscape that captures light exactly how you remember it, or a piece that makes you think twice about what you're looking at.

It works well for art enthusiasts and anyone with an afternoon to kill between other Bath activities. You won't need more than an hour unless you're genuinely lost in conversation with the staff, who actually know their stuff. The gallery rotates its collection, so there's a reason to return if you're staying longer than a day trip.

If you're based at Bath Mill Lodge Retreat nearby or camping at Campwell Farm a couple of miles out, this fits perfectly into a morning or late afternoon in the city centre. It's free admission - or at least, it should be, though you might want to ring ahead to confirm current opening hours before making the trip in. The beauty of staying at one of the local parks means you can explore Bath properly without the madness of city-centre parking, and ducking into galleries like this between walks breaks up the day nicely.