Roberts Gallery

The Roberts Gallery sits in Mevagissey, a working fishing village on Cornwall's south coast that doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is. This is a proper local art space - the kind of place you'd miss entirely if you weren't looking for it, and that's rather the point. Inside you'll find contemporary work from regional artists, everything from painting and sculpture to smaller pieces that actually make you stop and look rather than walk past on your phone.

It's worth an hour if you're already in the village, particularly if you're the sort who likes supporting independent galleries over the chain-store circuit. Families with teenagers who've got some patience for art will get more from it than younger kids. The space feels genuinely lived-in, not sterile - the kind of place where the owner actually cares about what's on the walls.

Since opening hours aren't reliably posted online, ring ahead before you go. Most of the nearby caravan parks - Pentewan Sands is less than two miles away - make decent bases for exploring the wider Mevagissey area, and the gallery fits naturally into a morning browse before lunch at the harbour. The Lost Gardens of Heligan are close enough for an afternoon too. Don't come expecting Tate Modern; come because you're genuinely curious about what local artists are doing, and you'll find it time well spent.