Le Carrose

Le Carrose is a gallery tucked away near Buckingham that punches well above its weight. The space showcases contemporary art and crafts with a real eye for quality - you'll find everything from sculpture to textiles, paintings to ceramics, rotating through the year with fresh exhibitions.

The gallery itself has character. It's the sort of place where you can spend twenty minutes or two hours depending on what's on and how deep you want to go. Staff are genuinely knowledgeable without being precious about it, which makes a proper difference when you're trying to understand what you're looking at.

This isn't a destination that'll keep the kids entertained for hours, to be honest. But it works brilliantly as a half-hour detour if you're based at somewhere like Embers Camping over in Claydon and fancying a bit of culture to break up a park holiday. Couples and art enthusiasts will get far more from it than families with restless teenagers.

Best to check ahead on their website or ring them directly - opening hours can be a bit variable, and admission details aren't widely published. Combine it with a walk around Buckingham town centre and you've got a decent morning sorted. It's not the sort of gallery that requires hours of planning, but it's absolutely worth a quick visit if you're in the area.