Sleeping giant

The Sleeping Giant is a contemporary art gallery just outside Penrith that punches well above its weight for a small regional space. What you're actually walking into is a converted industrial building where the work on the walls tends to be sharp, often provocative, and refreshingly unpretentious - the kind of place where artists experiment rather than play it safe.

The gallery rotates its shows regularly, so there's no single permanent collection to speak of. Instead, you get a genuine sense of discovery each visit. The space itself matters here - exposed brick, good natural light, none of that sterile white-cube nonsense. It works particularly well for anyone who's tired of mainstream galleries but doesn't want to drive three hours to Manchester or Liverpool.

Allow an hour minimum, longer if there's a show that grabs you. Entry details aren't always crystal clear on their end, so ring ahead before making the trip. The gallery sits within easy reach of several caravan parks - Waterfoot is barely a mile away, and Park Foot Holiday Park is just over two miles off - making it a sensible afternoon slot if you're based at Ullswater Holiday Park or any of the others dotted around the Penrith area. Families with teenagers who actually care about art will get more from it than younger kids. Winter weekday mornings tend to be wonderfully quiet. Worth the detour if you're already in the Lake District, though I wouldn't necessarily plan a whole trip around it.