PictureFrames of Shaftesbury

The ground floor of this Shaftesbury gallery is stuffed with frames - actual frames, hundreds of them, in every finish you'd imagine. Walk in expecting a quiet afternoon and you'll find yourself oddly absorbed, holding up corners of mahogany and gilt against the light. It's a working framers' studio as much as a shop, so you'll see staff actually making and cutting while you browse.

This is really for people who need frames, or who have strong opinions about frames. Art enthusiasts treating a portrait or print seriously will find proper craftsmanship here rather than the mass-produced stuff from high street chains. It's competent, straightforward work - the sort of place that's been propping up the high street because locals trust it.

If you're staying at Gold Hill Glamping just outside town, it's worth popping in while you're sorting out what to do with that print you've brought along. Shaftesbury itself sits on a hill - the famous Gold Hill with its cobbled street is the main draw - so you might spend twenty minutes here before heading to that, or the abbey ruins across the way.

Expect to spend perhaps forty minutes, longer if you're actually getting something framed and want to chat through options. The pace is deliberately unhurried. No rushing about - just solid, local gallery work in a town that doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is.