Xsellis

Xsellis is a contemporary art gallery tucked away in Essex, just outside Billericay, and it's one of those places that rewards you for bothering to find it. The space itself is refreshingly unpretentious - clean white walls, good light, the kind of venue where the work actually gets to breathe rather than fight for attention against fancy fixtures.

You'll find rotating exhibitions of contemporary painting, sculpture, and mixed media. It's not massive, which means you can properly see everything without your feet giving up halfway through. The gallery tends to attract emerging and established artists doing interesting things - nothing trying too hard to shock, just solid work worth your time.

This is genuinely worth stopping for if you're doing a creative or culturally-minded break in Essex. Art types will appreciate the curation. Families with older kids or teenagers interested in visual art won't find it boring - it's small enough that even reluctant visitors won't feel trapped inside for hours.

The space works brilliantly as a cultural pause during a holiday at Barleylands Campsite, which sits about six miles away. You could easily combine it with a wander around Billericay's town centre - there's enough there for a proper half-day without it feeling like you're forcing culture into a caravan holiday.

Check ahead for opening hours and current exhibitions before you go. It's the kind of place that occasionally closes for installations, and you don't want a wasted journey.