Driftwood

The first thing that hits you walking into Driftwood is the sheer scale of the pieces. This St Ives gallery specialises in large-scale wooden sculptures and installations, the kind of work that makes you crane your neck and step back to take it all in properly. You're looking at driftwood and reclaimed timber transformed into compelling art - some pieces abstract, others figurative, all of them carrying that weathered coastal character you'd expect from something salvaged off a Cornish beach.

It's the sort of place that appeals most to contemporary art enthusiasts and anyone who appreciates skilled craft work. Photographers will spend time here too, particularly if you catch the light right in the afternoon. Kids might engage with it for twenty minutes, thirty if you're lucky, depending on their age and how much patience they've got for standing still.

Admission is free, which is generous, and you can usually drop in without needing to book ahead. Plan on forty-five minutes to an hour, longer if you're really into the work or want to chat with whoever's minding the space. It's a straightforward walk from central St Ives, so easily combined with the seafront galleries and cafes you'll find dotted around town.

If you're based at Polmanter Touring Park or Haven Riviere Sands, you're just a couple of miles away. This works best as a half-day addition to a proper St Ives gallery crawl rather than a destination in itself, but it's worth the detour if contemporary sculpture speaks to you.