Art Exhibitions to Build a Summer Weekend Around

In Bloom: How Plants Changed Our World, Ashmolean Museum

(Running until 16 August 2026)

Opened in 1683 and widely recognised as the oldest public museum in Britain, the Ashmolean is one of Oxford’s great cultural landmarks. Its latest exhibition brings together more than 100 artworks and objects to trace the global stories behind some of our best-loved flowers. Along the way, it tells stories of exploration, obsession, scientific discovery and empire, showing how the pursuit of plants helped shape landscapes, economies and culture. Hartwell House & Spa is a wonderful contrast after time spent in the city. Sitting in parkland on the edge of the Chilterns, this stunning Grade I listed hotel and spa is part Jacobean mansion, part Georgian house, and one of only three hotels in the UK owned by the National Trust.

Rachel Maclean: They’ve Got Your Eyes, FACT Liverpool

(Running until 16 August 2026)

Liverpool’s centre for film, art and creative technology provides a fitting setting for Scottish artist and filmmaker Rachel Maclean’s latest exhibition. This new commission features the world premiere of a film she made using AI models trained on her own image and archive, with playful, mesmerising and unsettling effect. It is art that questions how images are made and how identity is shaped, rather than taking those ideas at face value. Northcote makes the perfect base for a UK art weekend, with its Michelin-starred restaurant, exceptionally comfortable rooms and a reputation that more than justifies stretching the whole trip into a longer Lancashire escape.

Rhythm, Dance and Everything: The Body and Performance from Hepworth to Now, The Hepworth Wakefield

(Running until March 2027)

One of the most important British sculptors of the 20th century, Barbara Hepworth often returned to ideas of movement and touch. Rhythm, Dance and Everything takes those themes as its starting point, then opens out into a broader look at the body and performance in modern and contemporary art. This gives the exhibition real energy and momentum, rather than presenting Hepworth’s work in isolation. For a broader Yorkshire escape, Middlethorpe Hall & Spa adds a more indulgent note: a William III country house just outside York, with elegant interiors, gardens and parkland, and the kind of flawless service that makes an exhibition-led break feel even more special.

Henry Moore: Monumental Nature, Kew Gardens

(9 May 2026 to 31 January 2027)

Kew’s ambitious Henry Moore project is one of the most eagerly anticipated UK art exhibitions of 2026. It’s also the most comprehensive presentation of the artist’s work seen in a generation, with 30 sculptures across the gardens and over 90 pieces in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery. Moore’s sculpture has always had a natural affinity with landscape, and here it has the space, light and setting to feel especially powerful. For a stay that continues the theme of space and greenery, The Hari in Belgravia is a great fit, with Hyde Park just a short walk away. This five-star, eco-certified boutique hotel is also well placed for visits to Harrods and Buckingham Palace.

Godfried Donkor: It’s a Numbers Game, Firstsite, Colchester

(23 May to 30 August 2026)

This exhibition marks British‑Ghanaian artist Godfried Donkor’s first solo presentation in a UK public art gallery. Donkor works across collage, painting and textiles to explore the intertwined histories of Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. Here, those themes land with real force, not least in an installation built around a boxing ring. Afterwards, Talbooth House & Spa presents a calmer counterpoint, with views across Dedham Vale and an intimate atmosphere that feels closer to a private country house than a hotel.

Hold to this Earth: Works by Contemporary Indigenous North American Artists from Tia Collection, Yorkshire Sculpture Park

(13 June 2026 to 18 April 2027)

Presented in collaboration with Tia Collection, this retrospective brings together 67 works by 38 artists, including three significant new commissions. It is a landmark exhibition of contemporary Indigenous North American art on a scale not seen before in the UK, with works shaped by the artists’ relationships to land, culture and community. Yorkshire Sculpture Park is already one of the most rewarding art-focused days out in the country, with work set across 500 acres as well as in its indoor galleries. Hold to this Earth gives yet another reason to visit. A stay at Grantley Hall turns a UK art weekend into something bigger than a single exhibition stop. This is a seriously luxurious retreat on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, with 47 rooms and suites, five restaurants (including the Michelin-starred Shaun Rankin at Grantley), three bars and an award-winning spa.

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition

(16 June to 23 August 2026)

There is something truly exhilarating about the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Part of it is the scale. Part of it is the range, with emerging artists shown alongside established names across painting, printmaking, architecture and more. Many of the works are available to buy, with sales directly supporting both the exhibiting artists and the RA’s charitable work. Held every year without interruption since 1776, it remains one of London’s great summer rituals, and a reminder of why the city is home to some of the best museums in the UK. Just along Piccadilly, The Athenaeum Hotel & Residences makes an appealing base, with Green Park on its doorstep, elegant rooms and suites and a landmark living wall that gives the façade a striking visual identity.

DARCH: Heaven in the Ground, Mostyn, Llandudno

(11 July to 3 October 2026)

Mostyn has helped establish North Wales as an important destination for contemporary art, with a programme of exhibitions on a par with those in leading galleries around the world. Created by DARCH, the collaborative practice of artists Umulkhayr Mohamed and Radha Patel, the venue’s summer exhibition explores the ground itself as a place shaped by memory, history and change. Through sound and installation, it weaves together personal stories and colonial legacies in a way that feels immersive and thought-provoking. Turn it into a real UK art weekend by staying at the Grade I-listed Bodysgallen Hall & Spa, just a short hop away. Set within 200 acres of parkland, it pairs luxurious accommodation and a tranquil spa with sweeping views towards Conwy Castle and Eryri (Snowdonia).

Joyce W. Cairns: A Personal Odyssey, Royal Scottish Academy

(1 August to 2 September 2026)

One of Edinburgh’s standout summer shows, and indeed one of the most keenly awaited UK art exhibitions in 2026  this retrospective traces the career of acclaimed Scottish artist Joyce W. Cairns, from her Aberdeen harbour scenes to the monumental canvases of the War Tourist series. It also includes early student pieces and the distinctive figurative paintings shaped by memory, childhood and her home in the village of Footdee. As the first woman elected President of the RSA, Cairns is an especially fitting artist to honour during the Academy’s 200th anniversary celebrations.

Afterwards, retire to Fingal, a former Northern Lighthouse Board ship now transformed into one of the city’s most unique places to stay. Permanently berthed in Leith, it combines polished cabins and Art Deco touches with a wonderful sense of occasion.