Winning tip: Ventnor Exchange, Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight’s hidden gem is indisputably Ventnor Exchange, an arts centre that comprises a theatre, record shop, live music venue, coffee shop and a craft beer bar. About 60 craft beers are available, plus locally roasted coffee, touring theatre shows, art exhibitions, and a great selection of new and secondhand vinyl. It’s run by the team behind Ventnor Fringe, launched 10 years ago by a group of teenagers who wanted to make a difference to their dilapidated Victorian seaside town, and two of this original team are still at the helm and guarantee you a warm welcome.

• ventnorexchange.co.uk

Doug

Innerpeffray Library, Perthshire

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

To reach the first free lending library in Scotland, drive up a rutted farm track until you reach a group of elegant whitewashed buildings and a chapel. It was founded in 1680 “For the benefit of all” by the third Lord Madertie, and you can pore over books from the 16th and 17th centuries onwards. Oh, the thrill of wondering who turned the pages before you! A handwritten ledger details who borrowed what – and the librarian tells tales of farmers and servants walking miles and wading through rivers to get here.

• Entry £7.50, innerpeffraylibrary.co.uk

Carol Ann Crawford

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David Parr’s house, Cambridge

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Front room in the David Parr house.

On the outskirts of Cambridge, a modest terraced house hides an astonishing interior. It once belonged to David Parr, a craftsman of the Arts and Crafts movement who was employed on commissions for colleges and churches. In his spare time, he decorated his family home with handpainted walls, richly patterned with intricate foliage and luscious colours in William Morris style. After Parr’s death, his granddaughter continued to live in the house – without making any alterations – until she died. The house was discovered by historian Tamsin Wimhurst and, after restoration, opened to the public earlier this year.

• Tour £14.50, davidparrhouse.org

Helen Brazier

Furzey Gardens, New Forest

Set within enchanting woodland near Lyndhurst in Hampshire, these beautiful gardens harness a plethora of delights for all ages. Mums and dads can marvel at the flora and fauna while children can hunt for the 40 intricately carved hidden fairy doors. You weave and wind through an outdoor play area, a barn for creating pictures and crafts and a tearoom and shop that serves the best cream tea we’ve ever had. The garden is looked after by Pete White, with a team of 30 people with learning disabilities and other volunteers. The garden supports Minstead Trust’s charitable work.

• Entrance by donation, minsteadtrust.org.uk

jordan bailey

Genesis cinema, London

This independent cinema is run by the local community in Mile End, the heart of London’s East End. Named after the band Genesis, it shows both mainstream and arthouse films and has themed weeks for the surrounding area but is open to anyone and has a nice and friendly chilled atmosphere. Sit, chat and eat in The Kitchen, where its wonderful fare is part of the “pie and picture” deal for £15. The building has a fascinating history, with one previous incarnation being a Frank Matcham theatre called the Paragon, where Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy performed many years ago.

• genesiscinema.co.uk

Gonca

Willow and Wetlands centre, Somerset

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Charcoal produced in the Somerset Levels. Photograph: Christopher Jones/Alamy

Venture on to the Somerset Levels and you feel as if you are stepping back in time. In the heart of this unusual landscape is the Willow and Wetlands centre, near Stoke St Gregory. This magical place describes a time when willow was used to make bicycle panniers, hot-air balloon baskets, invalid carriages and much more. When this industry declined, the Coates family diversified into making artists’ charcoal and today is a supplier of world renown. The museum is free to enter but there is a charge for guided tours.

• englishwillowbaskets.co.uk

Robert Webb

The Grouse Inn, Carrog, Denbighshire

Eight miles from Llangollen, you simply cannot beat the views from the terrace here, watching the river meander under the 17th-century bridge, especially with late afternoon sun lighting the mountainsides of the facing Dee Valley. So many villages no longer have a pub; but the Grouse enjoys a symbiotic relationship with locals, travelling regulars and tourists from the campsite and the Llangollen Railway, which stops 300 yards away. It’s a bustling little village hub, which serves good beer and food in a cosy atmosphere inside, but never better than when sitting outside with that view.

• thegrouseinncarrog.co.uk

Dave Thomas

Scarthin Books, Cromford, Derbyshire

You may have discovered independent bookshops with stimulating, well-curated stock before, but few can match Scarthin Books’ historic setting – the Derwent Valley Mills, a Unesco world heritage site. First off, it overlooks the millpond that powered the world’s first factory, Richard Arkwright’s (now restored)cotton mills. You can also take a trip along the beautiful Cromford Canal, trek up to a sandstone outcrop and meander down through the backs of pretty mill-workers’ cottages. Scarthin also has a secret cafe behind a bookshelf door, leading out on to a Derbyshire hillside where you can drink tea and read books, hidden among a muddle of cottage gardens.

• scarthinbooks.com

Alison

Staveley Mill Yard, Lake District

A veritable hive of activity, the Mill Yard boasts a cycle hire centre, furniture workshop and gallery, a beer hall, cookery school, outdoor store for mountain equipment and brewery. Outdoorsy Wilf’s Café has diversified, with the addition of the more urbane More? artisan bakery, next to Hawkshead brewery and beerhall. There’s also Mr Duffin’s coffee roasters and Kimi’s gelateria, all in one small Lake District village. Eat, drink and be merry, then go for a great walk or bike ride.

• staveleymillyard.com

Alistair Kirkbride

Fife Coastal Path: a car-free tour along Scotland's shoreline Read more

Burntisland, Fife

This town of 6,000 people has an old-fashioned high street boasting a proper craft butchers that has been in the same shop for years, a fishmongers selling seafood fresh from the harbour and a greengrocer selling locally sourced fruit and veg. It also has a few coffee shops, with one selling locally ground coffee that would not be out of place in more metropolitan Edinburgh. There’s a couple of very friendly gift shops too, and, most importantly, a post office and railway station with a regular connection to Edinburgh.

Gary Cummins

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