Lincoln Joyce Fine Art

Art galleries tucked away in the Surrey Hills don't always announce themselves loudly, and Lincoln Joyce Fine Art is exactly that sort of place - the kind you find because you're already in Dorking exploring the area rather than making a special trip. The gallery focuses on contemporary fine art, with rotating exhibitions that tend toward painting and sculpture from established and emerging artists.

It's a proper gallery experience without the stuffiness of somewhere in central London. You get to wander at your own pace, take in the work, maybe chat with whoever's manning the space about what's on show. The sort of afternoon activity that works best on a misty autumn day when you've already walked off a hangover in Norbury Park nearby.

Realistic about it though - this isn't a major draw on its own. You wouldn't base a holiday around visiting Lincoln Joyce Fine Art. What it is, however, is a genuinely good spot to slot into a day if you're camping at Embers near Polesden Lacey or staying somewhere in the wider Surrey Hills area. Dorking itself has enough independent shops and decent pubs to make a half-day worthwhile, and the gallery adds a bit of cultural substance to the mix.

Stop by in the afternoon after a morning hike, check what's on, spend forty minutes browsing. That's the honest pitch. If contemporary art leaves you cold, you've not wasted a journey - Polesden Lacey house and gardens are minutes away, and the Surrey Hills National Landscape is right there for proper walking.