Moondancer

The moment you walk into Moondancer, you're confronted with work that refuses to whisper. This York-based gallery trades in bold contemporary art - the sort that either grabs you immediately or leaves you cold, which is rather the point. The space itself has that slightly raw, unpretentious feel of a working studio more than a polished white-cube affair, and there's something refreshing about that.

What you'll find depends entirely on what's showing when you visit, but expect painting, sculpture, and mixed media installations that lean towards the experimental. It's the kind of place where artists are actually trying something rather than repeating what sold last season. You won't spend hours here - a solid 45 minutes to an hour covers it properly - but if contemporary work speaks to you, it's well worth the short trip from central York.

This isn't a family-with-young-children destination, frankly. Teenagers with genuine interest in art will get something from it, though. If you're basing yourself at Wagtail Park or Nurseries Caravan Park for a North Yorkshire break, Moondancer makes a decent rainy-day detour when you're spending time in York anyway. Don't plan an entire afternoon around it, but when you're in the city, go in if the work appeals. The price and specific hours are worth checking before you head over, but independent galleries like this tend to keep reasonable hours through the week.