Nartila

Nartila is a proper art gallery tucked away in Staffordshire, close enough to Burton-on-Trent that you could fit it into a day trip without much fuss. Walking in, you get that immediate sense of a space that takes itself seriously - the kind of place where the work on the walls actually matters to the people running it.

What you'll find inside depends on what's showing, but this isn't a massive institutional sprawl. It's intimate. The gallery focuses on contemporary work, and there's something refreshing about that - no dusty old portraits dominating the room, just art that's made recently by living artists. You can usually work through it in forty minutes to an hour, longer if you're the type to read every artist statement and really sit with pieces.

Historically minded visitors might find less to grab hold of here than they would elsewhere, but anyone interested in what's happening in modern British art should make the effort. It's the sort of gallery that feels like a genuine artistic community rather than a tourist tick-box.

If you're based at Cannock Chase Camping & Caravanning Club Site - which is brilliant, by the way - Nartila makes an easy afternoon outing. The surrounding area has plenty of walks and outdoor space, so you could easily combine a gallery morning with proper countryside in the afternoon. Worth ringing ahead to check what's on and confirm opening times before you visit.