Dorich House Museum

You'll find this 1930s artists' house tucked away in a corner of Surrey that doesn't quite feel like Surrey at all. The Dorich House Museum is the former home and studio of the sculptor Dora Gordine, and it's genuinely one of those places where stepping inside feels like interrupting someone's afternoon. The house itself - art deco in the best sense, not the Instagram-posterised version - tells you more about its inhabitants than any placard could manage. Gordine's sculptures are scattered throughout, alongside works by her Russian-born husband; the studio still has the weight of serious creative work about it.

Historians and anyone with even a passing interest in 20th-century art will find themselves staying far longer than expected. The attention to detail in how the house has been preserved means it works as both artwork and archive. If you've got teenagers who actually care about modernism or sculpture, they might surprise you with genuine engagement rather than the usual museum shuffle.

It's a free admission spot, which makes the journey from Chessington well worthwhile - you're only about fifteen minutes away. Allows an hour and a half comfortably; trying to rush it misses the point. The house isn't enormous, but it rewards slow looking. Best visited on quieter weekdays when you're not jostling with school groups. If you're staying at Walton on Thames Camping and Caravanning Club Site nearby, it's an easy afternoon excursion that beats another walk round the park.