Smugglers Apprentice

The Smugglers Apprentice is a working gallery just outside Scarborough where you can watch artists actually making things rather than just gawping at finished pieces behind velvet ropes. It's the sort of place where you'll find potters at their wheels, jewellers bent over their benches, and painters with paint genuinely under their fingernails - not staged for effect.

What makes it different from your average seaside art space is the emphasis on craft in motion. You're not shuffled through on a set route; instead you can linger as long as you like watching someone throw clay or hand-finish a piece of jewellery. There's usually stock to buy if something catches your eye, though prices reflect the fact these are proper craftspeople, not mass production.

It works particularly well for families with older kids who actually have an attention span, or anyone with a genuine interest in how things are made. Younger children might lose interest after twenty minutes or so, unless they're the type to sit mesmerised watching a potter's wheel spin.

Opening times and admission fees aren't firmly documented, so ring ahead before making the trip. The gallery sits conveniently between Scarborough town centre and the cluster of caravan parks around Cayton Bay and Filey - makes sense as a morning or afternoon activity if you're based at Parkdean Resorts Cayton Bay or any of the other sites nearby. Allow an hour minimum, longer if you're chatty with the artists.