Gainsborough's House

Thomas Gainsborough's childhood home sits on a quiet Sudbury street, and stepping inside feels like you've actually caught him mid-sketch. The Georgian townhouse where the painter grew up is now a proper museum dedicated to his work and life - rooms full of his paintings, sketches, and personal bits that show you how a working artist lived in 18th-century Suffolk.

You'll see his landscapes and portraits hung salon-style, alongside furniture and objects from his era. The garden studio out back gives a sense of where he actually worked, though it's modest - nothing grand about it. If you're into art history or portraiture, this is genuinely worthwhile; if you're expecting vast galleries and multimedia displays, you'll find it intimate and a bit spare.

It's the sort of place where you'll spend an hour properly engaged, or thirty minutes if you're only vaguely interested. The rooms aren't enormous, and families with young kids might find it quiet rather than exciting - though teenagers who've studied Gainsborough at school could get a lot from it.

The location works well for a park holiday in the area. You're close enough to Cranfield Retreat or Lake View Lodges Suffolk for an easy afternoon visit, and Sudbury itself has enough pubs and decent lunch spots to make a half-day trip of it. Worth combining with a walk around the town if you've got time to kill before heading back to your glamping.