GUIDOOAKLEY

Guido Oakley's gallery sits in Ventnor, that rather genteel seaside town on the Isle of Wight's south coast. It's a working studio and exhibition space where you can actually see what Oakley does - proper art, the kind that makes you stop and look twice rather than shuffle past in five minutes.

The gallery itself is intimate. You're not walking through some vast white-walled warehouse here. It feels personal, which works in its favour if you're someone who genuinely cares about contemporary art, less so if you're just after a quick rainy-day activity. Oakley's work tends toward the contemporary, though the specifics shift with what's on display. Sometimes it's painting, sometimes installation, sometimes sculpture. Worth checking ahead if you're making a special trip.

Families with older kids who can appreciate proper art will get something from it. Younger ones might find it a bit much. Walkers passing through Ventnor on the coastal path could easily pop in for twenty minutes or so.

It's a five-minute walk from the seafront, so if you're staying at Isle of Wight Coastal Park or one of the Parkdean sites nearby, you're well-positioned. Combine it with a proper wander round Ventnor itself - the town centre's got enough going on to justify a morning or afternoon. The beach is decent when the tide's out, and there's decent fish and chips if that's your thing.

Free entry would be standard for a studio like this, though do ring ahead to check opening hours. They can be a bit variable with smaller operations.