Spiral arch

The Spiral Arch gallery sits in Morpeth, a market town with genuine character that doesn't feel like it's been scrubbed clean for tourists. This is a contemporary art space, the kind of place where you'll either spend twenty minutes or a couple of hours depending on what's on and whether the work speaks to you.

Inside, it's intimate rather than grand. The spiral structure gives the place a bit of architectural personality - you're not just walking through white-walled rooms but moving through actual space, which changes how you experience the work. Local and emerging artists get shown alongside more established names, so there's real variety in what lands on the walls.

If you're the sort who gets restless in galleries after half an hour, you'll be fine here. It won't drain you. Families with teenagers interested in art will find it worth a stop; younger kids might need to be coaxed. It's free entry, which is always lovely, though opening hours can be a bit irregular so worth checking ahead.

Parked up at Riverside Rothbury Holiday Park, which is barely a mile away, you could easily slip into town for a morning visit, grab lunch at one of Morpeth's decent cafes, and be back for afternoon activities. The same goes for Whitton Glebe if you're staying there - close enough for a casual trip without feeling like you're making a pilgrimage. It's a proper little cultural pause in what's otherwise a very outdoorsy part of Northumberland.