Mackerel

Mackerel is a contemporary art gallery tucked away in Beverley, and it's one of those spots that rewards turning off the high street to have a poke around. The space itself is intimate - you're not dealing with vast white cubes here, just a proper working gallery that takes its exhibitions seriously without any pretension about it.

The programme shifts regularly, so there's no point me telling you exactly what's on the walls right now, but the curatorial approach tends toward emerging artists and work that actually provokes a reaction rather than just filling space. That said, it's not stuffy. Families won't feel out of place, and the staff know what they're talking about without being patronising about it.

You'll want to allow an hour, though most people spend 30-45 minutes and that's absolutely fine. Worth checking their current programme before the journey - if contemporary art isn't your thing, it won't suddenly become it in a gallery, no matter how good the space is.

Beverley itself is worth a day's wander anyway - the Minster is genuinely stunning, and the town centre has proper character. If you're staying at Manor Farm Camping just outside town, Mackerel makes a cracking rainy-afternoon diversion. It's the kind of gallery that justifies a weekend in East Yorkshire rather than being a reason to visit on its own, but that's not a criticism. Real art spaces in market towns are thin on the ground.