Star Brewery Gallery

The Star Brewery Gallery occupies a proper piece of Lewes history - a working brewery turned art space where you can actually feel the industrial bones of the place beneath the contemporary work on the walls. It's a modest affair, nothing flashy, but that's rather the point. Local artists show here, and the quality is genuinely good; you're not wading through derivative tourist tat.

The building itself is the real draw. Exposed brick, original brewery fixtures, that sort of thing. Spend an hour wandering around if you're into visual art, less if you're just after a quick cultural tick. The actual layout of the space means you stumble into corners - it doesn't feel sterile or corporate, which matters.

Not one for young kids unless they're the museum-kid type who'll sit and sketch. Adults get more from it, particularly if you've got an interest in contemporary work or the history of how places like Lewes reinvent their industrial spaces. Worth timing your visit around the seasonal exhibitions if you can.

If you're based at The Secret Campsite or Blackberry Wood nearby, you could easily swing into Lewes town itself - half an hour's walk or a quick drive - and tack this onto a morning browsing the independent shops and the castle. Three Ponds is a touch further out but still workable as a base for exploring the area. Admission details vary, so ring ahead or check locally, but Lewes isn't the sort of place that'll charge you a fortune to look at art.