From the British Museum in London to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow – the UK is home to an astonishing number of world-renowned galleries, museums, historic houses and gardens, many of which you might have already visited. Possibly more than once.
But we’re not here to talk about them. Because tucked away, out of the limelight, you’ll find a whole world of cultural gems packed full of world-class art, fascinating artefacts and unforgettable exhibitions, just waiting to be discovered.
A National Art Pass is your ticket to many of them, giving holders free or half price entry to hundreds of cultural sites around the UK. This June, the National Art Pass is offering a three-month trial membership for just £15, followed by annual membership for £39.50 – that’s half the usual price of £79.
Here’s our roundup of some of the UK’s most exciting cultural hidden gems …
Exhilarating exhibitions
Chris Ofili: The Caged Bird’s Song
Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
28 June – 5 October
Seeing is still not quite believing when it comes to Chris Ofili’s otherworldly triptych of tapestries. The first black artist to win the Turner prize in 1998 (for his vibrant, complex paintings, consisting of layers of resin, glitter and even elephant dung), Ofili presents his tapestry, The Caged Bird’s Song, in Edinburgh, where it was originally created.
It took three years for the weavers at Dovecot Tapestry Studio to transform Ofili’s mythological watercolours into a woollen wonderland, and the fluidity of the yarn rendering light on water is astonishing. The beguiling tropical tapestry takes its name from a memoir written by the poet and activist Maya Angelou, and has its roots in mythology, poetry and, surprisingly, football. The three large-scale panels, which have lived in Clothworkers’ Hall in the City of London for many years, return to Scotland this June as part of 2024’s Edinburgh festival.
Three more exhibitions not to miss …
Celtic Wave: A History of Surfing in Ireland
Explore the roots of surfing as a sport in Ireland.
Ulster Transport Museum,
Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Until 2026
Claude Cahun: Beneath this Mask
An investigation of identity and the confines of gender.
Abbot Hall,
Kendal, Cumbria.
23 March – 3 AugustLiquid Gender: What Is Truth? season
Exploring the relationship between identity and culture, asking how do we know who we really are? Part of a series of four interlinked exhibitions.
Sainsbury Centre,
Norwich, East Anglia.
17 February – 4 August 2024
The historic house
Leighton House
Kensington, west London
While Flaming June, one of British art’s most iconic works, visits the UK from Puerto Rico (free to see at the Royal Academy of Arts until January 2025), why not delve a bit deeper into the life of the Victorian artist who painted it – Frederic Leighton – and visit his jewel of a home in Kensington, west London?
One of the most beautiful “secret” museums in the world, Leighton House museum has some of the most magical interiors you will ever see (not a boast) with one of the most incredible entrance halls of any home in the UK (also a promise).
The Arab Hall, which was inspired by the 12th-century Palace La Zisa in Palermo, was created with peacock blue tiles that came from 16th-century Damascus, and comes complete with a golden dome, indoor fountain and pool. And if you think the serene interiors are fit for a queen, you wouldn’t be wrong. After Queen Victoria popped by to visit Leighton, she wrote in her journal: “He is most agreeable and gentlemanlike, and his house and studio charmingly arranged.” That’s a bit of an understatement, ma’am.
Until 20 October, the museum is running a Victorian fashion exhibition, Out Shopping: The Dresses of Marion and Maud Sambourne (1880-1910), a perfect double bill with Tate Britain’s current Sargent and Fashion exhibition, running until 7 July (which is 50% off with a National Art Pass).
Marvellous museums and galleries
It bears repeating, because people seem to forget, but the UK has some of the best museums, with the most incredible art collections, in the world.
A stone’s throw from London’s Hyde Park corner, Apsley House, the former home of the Duke of Wellington, is stacked with paintings by Titian, Caravaggio and Velázquez – alongside a marble statue of Napoleon so sexy that the French emperor banned people from seeing it.
But it’s not just London – there are marvellous museums and galleries dotted all around the UK. From Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery to Birmingham’s Barber Institute of Fine Arts; The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge to Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. If you don’t live nearby, make the trip – they’re all incredible. And National Art Pass members are eligible for benefits at all of these museums and galleries.
Three more museums and galleries not to miss …
Kettle’s Yard
The University of Cambridge’s modern and contemporary art gallery.
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire.Pallant House Gallery
Showcasing modern British art from 1900 to now.
Chichester, West Sussex.Dulwich Picture Gallery
A vibrant cultural hub hosting leading exhibitions alongside its permanent collection of Baroque masterpieces.
Dulwich, south London.
Glorious gardens
Garden Museum
Lambeth, south London
If you’re a green-fingered aficionado, then you must visit the Garden Museum – tucked away in a medieval church on the Thames, just up from the Houses of Parliament. It doesn’t matter what time of year you visit, the exhibition is likely to be blooming marvellous (it also has one of the best cafes in town, and is brilliant for children). Recent shows have included Lucian Freud, Derek Jarman and Caribbean artist Frank Walter.
Right now, until 29 September, it’s showcasing beautiful works from the women of the Bloomsbury group and the celebrated gardens they created, painted, or maybe just sat in with a G&T. The four women highlighted in Gardening Bohemia: Bloomsbury Women Outdoors are the painter Vanessa Bell, her sister Virginia Woolf, Woolf’s lover Vita Sackville-West, and their friend, hostess and patron, Lady Ottoline Morrell – but the real stars are their gardens: Charleston, Monk’s House, Sissinghurst, and Garsington Manor.
Meanwhile, if you fancy venturing deeper into nature, why not take a tour of the breathtaking fairytale (nightmare?) hedges that need to be seen to be believed at Powis Castle and Garden in Welshpool, Wales. The 300-year-old, 50ft yew hedges look like something created by a Baratheon king to keep out white walkers, while the epic cloud hedge at Audley End in Essex is more like a serpent that swallowed a thousand dragon eggs. Finally, Jupiter Artland sculpture park near Edinburgh has a swirling landscape to make Salvador Dalí’s dreams look humdrum.
The National Art Pass lets you see more, for less. Sign up for a three-month trial membership for just £15 at artfund.org/national-art-pass
