Polly Skye Art Gallery

The walk up to Polly Skye Art Gallery from Lynton is half the experience - steep enough to make your calves burn but short enough that you're not cursing the gradient for miles. Once you arrive, it's a proper working studio and gallery space, the kind of place where you can actually have a chat with the artist rather than shuffle past behind velvet ropes.

The gallery itself punches above its weight. Local and regional contemporary work dominates, with a focus on painting and printmaking that reflects the Devon coast and countryside. The light is excellent, natural and unforced, which matters when you're trying to judge colour and texture. It's not vast - you'll spend thirty to forty minutes here without rushing, maybe longer if something catches your eye deeply enough.

This works beautifully as a half-hour detour during a park holiday at Lynmouth Holiday Retreat, just down the hill. The gallery crowd tends toward people who've actually wandered off the main tourist trail, so it never feels rammed. Families with older kids who have genuine art interest will get more from it than anyone dragging reluctant toddlers around. If you're into contemporary work and want to support working artists directly, it's worth the journey. If you're expecting grand institutional scale, you'll be disappointed - but that's rather the point.