The Object

The Object is a contemporary art gallery tucked away in Buckinghamshire that takes itself seriously without being pretentious about it. It's a working space where artists exhibit their pieces - sculpture, installations, paintings - the kind of place where you'll stumble across something that makes you stop and actually think instead of just walking past.

You're looking at a couple of hours here, maybe less if you're not a gallery regular. There's real work on display, and the scale of some pieces means you need to walk around them, change your perspective, let your eye adjust. It's not a massive operation - more intimate than that - which is precisely why it works.

This attracts the sort of people who actually care about what art does rather than just ticking off attractions. Families with teenagers keen on creative subjects will get something out of it. Anyone based at Ekeney House Campsite just outside Milton Keynes and looking to break up a holiday with something more cerebral than the usual theme park run should slot this in.

The nearest proper town is Milton Keynes itself, which gives you decent amenities before or after. If you're combining this with other parks in the area, it's a good halfway-point activity - the kind of thing that justifies an afternoon away from the campsite without eating into your evening.

Best approach: ring ahead or check before you go. Gallery hours can be unpredictable, especially for independent spaces, and you don't want the journey for nothing.