Polperro Arts Foundation Gallery

The narrow high street in Polperro seems to swallow you whole - all granite cottages and steep slopes down to the harbour. Tucked into this jumble is the Arts Foundation Gallery, a modest space that punches above its weight for a village this size. You'll find contemporary work from local and visiting artists rotating through the year, nothing too challenging or institutional about it, just decent stuff that actually speaks to people rather than lectures them.

The gallery works best for art types on a proper seaside break, or anyone who fancies an excuse to linger in Polperro beyond the usual pasty-and-sea-view routine. Kids will get about twenty minutes out of it unless they're genuinely keen on painting. Worth a quick look if you're already down by the water - and in a village this tight, you likely will be.

Being Polperro, free admission is probable though worth confirming before you make the trek. Allow half an hour maximum. The real draw here is the setting rather than any singular work - you're standing in one of Cornwall's most handsome villages, where artists have been working for decades because the light and the drama of the place just demands it.

Staying nearby? Killigarth Manor and Tencreek are both close enough for a morning visit before heading to bigger attractions around Looe. Don't expect gallery hours to be generous in winter - ring ahead or check online.