Present Time

Present Time is a contemporary art gallery just outside Oxford that takes itself seriously without the stuffiness you'd expect. The space focuses on work by living artists, which means you're not trudging through centuries of dusty portraits - it's actual people making actual things right now.

What you'll find inside depends entirely on the current exhibition, but that's the whole point. There's no permanent collection to plough through; instead the gallery rotates shows throughout the year, so repeat visits actually feel fresh. The building itself is fairly minimal, letting the work do the talking rather than competing with fancy architecture.

This works best for anyone with a genuine interest in contemporary practice - not the Instagram crowd looking for a quick aesthetic hit, but people who actually want to think about what they're looking at. If you're camping at Valley Farm Campsite or Green Acres Holiday Retreat, both within four miles, it's a straightforward detour into Oxford proper. Bablock Hythe Caravan Park, further north, also puts you in reasonable range for a morning visit.

Allow an hour maximum unless there's a particularly sprawling installation on. Admission details aren't universally published, so ring ahead before you go - but contemporary galleries in this corner of Oxfordshire tend to be either free or modest. Best tackled midweek if you can manage it; weekends draw the university crowd and it gets genuinely rammed.