Mr Oakley

You'll find this gallery tucked away near Edenbridge, a proper working artist's space rather than some polished white-walled institution. Mr Oakley runs the show himself, and it shows - the whole place has that lived-in feel of a studio where things actually get made, not just displayed.

The work on display tends towards contemporary pieces, and there's usually something worth stopping for if you're into that sort of thing. It's intimate in scale, which means you won't spend hours here, but that's not really the point. Most visitors manage the full visit in 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how much you want to chat with the artist if he's about.

Families with older kids will get more from it than those with toddlers in tow - it's not really set up for the under-eights crowd. It works best as a stop-off during a wider wander around the Edenbridge area rather than a destination in itself. If you're staying at Thriftwood Country Park just down the road, it's worth ringing ahead to check opening hours before you trek over.

The real value here is in stumbling across genuine creative work without the gatekeeping or pretension. No gift shop nonsense, no corporate sponsorship banners. Just art and the person who made it. That's increasingly rare.