Whitewater Contemporary Gallery

The Whitewater Contemporary Gallery sits just outside Polzeath, that brilliant North Cornwall spot where the surfers congregate and the Atlantic winds don't let up. It's a proper modern art space - the kind of place you stumble into expecting five minutes and end up lingering for an hour because something actually speaks to you.

The gallery focuses on contemporary work, which means you get everything from painting and sculpture to installation pieces that make you think twice. It's not intimidatingly serious either. Staff know what they're talking about without the pretension you sometimes get in bigger venues. If you're staying at one of the nearby parks - Porthilly Beach is closest at just over two miles - it makes a good rainy-day detour or a cultural palate cleanser between beach trips.

Best for art enthusiasts and anyone after something beyond the typical seaside fare. Families with older kids who can handle standing around and actually looking at things will find it worthwhile. Younger children might lose interest unless there's a particularly engaging installation on.

The space itself has charm - you can feel the care that's gone into curation rather than just hanging whatever sells. Free admission, which is always brilliant, though hours aren't fixed and it's worth checking ahead to avoid a wasted trip. Allow 45 minutes to an hour. It's perfectly paired with a coastal walk around Polzeath or a proper fish supper afterwards. Not groundbreaking, but solidly good - the kind of gallery that reminds you why you bothered leaving the caravan in the first place.