UK Museum Visits.

[Thingy]

Just wondering what you guys recommend for museum days out in the UK. I know there are some brilliant ones and some are pretty dire. Personally I found the following well worth a visit.

1) Historic Dockyard Portsmouth. Pricey, but so much to do it takes a couple of days, and your ticket covers 12 months.
2) Artillery Museum at Fort Nelson nr Fareham. Part of the Royal Armouries and free to enter. Some amazing stuff there too.
3) Railway Museum at York. Free to enter but donation requested. Im no trainspotter, I actually went to see a display of a WW1 Hospital Train. That display was pretty poor but the whole museum was superb. Platform Restaurants were brilliant too.
4) National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. very very expensive and cafe even moreso. Again multiple visits from one ticket. Loved it. SOE museum and Top Gear display when we were there but I understand Top Gear being removed.
5) Bovington Tank Museum - Very very good indeed.
6) Warwick Castle. Not been for a long time, but I though this was one of the best I had seen. I liked Arundel a lot too.
7) Bristol Museum and Art gallery. Went when daughter was at Uni. Very good museum. Not on a par I would think with the London offerings, but still a very good day out.
8.) Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirby, Lincs. Been mentioned on here a few times, but to get under the Lancs wingtips as it taxis was an experience never forgotten.
9) Beamish. I was a bit disappointed with Beamish. It was good but I expected so much more.

 

[Mel]

Crich Tramway museum;
National Memorial Arboretum ( not exactly a museum but certainly evokes the past)
Eden Camp. ( not been in years and years but the children loved it).
Mel

 

[Thingy]

Only live 5 mins from Crich Tramway and I have never been to it.
Eden Camp, I agree, was a long way from finsihed though when we went. Kids still at school as I recall.
Again, only went to the Arboretum when they began it. Really should go again.

 

[Parksy]

The Black Country Living Museum is well worth a visit, ticket prices are reasonable and the ticket lasts for 12 months. The narrowboat trip through the old limestone workings via the Dudley canal tunnel is particularly recommended, the canal trips are on the same site but don't wear your best clothes for the canal trip. If you visit the West Midlands the Severn Valley steam railway and the Ironbridge Gorge museums could easily be included in the itinerary.

 

[Thingy]

It does look good I must admit. may just have to give that one a go sooner rather than later.

 

[Parksy]

It does look good I must admit. may just have to give that one a go sooner rather than later.

Some time ago I submitted a post all about the rich industrial heritage of the Black Country, Click Here to read it.

 

[Thingy]

Very good post, you obviously still feel proud of the area. However, a couple of points B)

once the industrial power house of the industrial revolution.

Quite a few Lancastrians would take you to task on that one. Let alone Sheffield in whatsumacallitshire.

the BCLM which is about two miles from where I live.

Thats handy, it will save us having to buy a meal

most of what I've listed is possibly a bit 'blokey'

Nowt wrong wi that lad.

Bridgnorth on the River Severn is really two towns, High Town and Low Town with the famous Victorian cliff railway connecting the two.

Now that I didnt know. Looks to be a rival for the one at Lynmouth which works on gravity and water ballast.

 

[Martin24]

All good, as far as Eden camp goes we've been a lot with it only just down the road but have also been on three rallies there and they've been great as use of a hut for evening socials, good clean facilities for elsa point and the toilets are left open as well. Also of course the option of eating in the cafe during the day if feeling lazy.

 

[Parksy]

Very good post, you obviously still feel proud of the area. However, a couple of points B)

once the industrial power house of the industrial revolution.

Quite a few Lancastrians would take you to task on that one. Let alone Sheffield in whatsumacallitshire.

the BCLM which is about two miles from where I live.

Thats handy, it will save us having to buy a meal

most of what I've listed is possibly a bit 'blokey'

Nowt wrong wi that lad.

Bridgnorth on the River Severn is really two towns, High Town and Low Town with the famous Victorian cliff railway connecting the two.

Now that I didnt know. Looks to be a rival for the one at Lynmouth which works on gravity and water ballast.

There are not many traces of the industrial past that gave rise to my claim left now unless you know what to look for and where to look, but the Black Country was once an area rich in coal and limestone. Both of these minerals were vital to manufacturing, the production of iron and the fuel for the Birmingham made Newcommen and later on Boulton and Watt steam engines that drove the steel and cotton mills elsewhere and pumped water from the mines. I've seen the Lynmouth cliff railway and in terms of scale it dwarfs the Bridgnorth model although both worked using the same principle.

 

[Thingy]

As you know, its the same up North. Both Lancs and whatsit over the hills. The dark satanic mills have all gone, Sheffield steel all but wiped from the earth, even Bob Lords Pie factory in Burnley.

Take where I live now, Butterley Engineering dates back to dates back to 1790. They had a hand in most of Britiains major engineering projects, one of the older ones that I have seen was the ironworks for HMS Warrior, one of their last was the Falkirk Wheel. They were known for innovation and a can do attitude. The Spinnaker Tower at Portsmouth is one of theirs too.

From wiki:

Demolition of the works was undertaken in November and December 2009. Photographic records of the demolition and the works are at the Aditnow site.[13] The blast furnaces, part of the canal tunnel and its underground wharf were declared a scheduled monument in 2013.

The canal mentioned is only part of the story. The works were supplied by the Butterley Gangroad, part of which is the oldest railway tunnel (Fritchley Tunnel) on earth.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-31951751

Its all gone now and about to be replaced by a housing project.

 

[Parksy]

We can only hope that British innovation continues to be at the forefront of the present day technological revolution which has the potential to generate national wealth, even though there is little or no visible trace of the infrastructure in modern day use.
On the edge of the Black Country in Handsworth, now a bustling and diverse Birmingham suburb, the evidence of past industrial might can still be seen in places.
There are still parts of Soho foundry visible and the house of Matthew Boulton is now a museum which is open to the public.

 

[chrisbee1]

This relatively recent ides of charging for a yearly ticket really irks me. I know these places are very expensive to maintain and money is tight, but so is mine. I have current annual tickets for SS Great Britain, The Eden Project, Bletchley Park and Leeds Castle. Much as I enjoyed my visits to the first two I'm unlikely to revisit within the 12 month time limit so basically I've paid for an annual ticket when all I really wanted was a day, or in the case of Bristol, a couple of hours ticket. I actually wouldn't mind so much if they said "the admission price is £xx" every time I visit. It's the fact they sell me a ticket for £xx then tell me what a good deal it is as I can visit as many times as I like in a year. It's not a good deal if I live 250 miles away! It's just a cynical ploy to raise admission prices. As for Leeds Castle, I can almost see it from my house but have still only used my current ticket once this year. I only got it to accompany visiting friends from Australia around and of course their 12 month tickets are now in a drawer in Melbourne.

 

[Thingy]

Totally take your point on the tickets. The only way I can justify that is by being away on holiday and visiting a site such as the historic dockyard or Beaulieu where there is just too much to do in one day.

As for places akin to the Eden project, its not a place Im likely to visit twice in the same year so for me that type of ticket is not a good bargain.

 

[Martin24]

We used to find the Longleat passport ticket really handy so that we could stay on the site for a week or so and do a bit of the safari park each morning before it got busy and then go out for the day. Can't remember which forum it was but I'm sure I was told they don't do it anymore.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Museums are often portrayed as old fashioned and largely unchanging, but a good museum should continually redevelops itself, not just for the sake of change, but to try and bring a different perspective to the subject matter, so a repeat visit should bring new delights. Sometimes new historical discoveries bring a new insight about a subject or person.

I know there are all sorts of museums across the country, and whilst there are some very well known and respected institutions, you could be surprised at how many less well known smaller collections may be close to you in your home town.

Many towns became know for particular trades or events, and frequently either the local authority or a heritage society may have an exhibition or museum dedicated to the activity. What I find particularly fascinating about such centres is it's about real life of the people not just the well to do famous.

Parksy has mentioned the Black Country Living Museum, and that is one museum I have visited several times over the last 30 odd years. One thing that's impressed me is whilst, there are some set pieces which don't change much (nor should they) the rest of the museum is continually being developed. Each time there has been more to see, and it's often good to revisit some exhibits to glean a better insight.

However one upsetting aspect of the this and a number of other collections I have seen is the increasing number of items being displayed as 'historic' that I have used or still have!

Perhaps they'll put me in a museum as an example of mid 20th Century ludite!

Here's a thought' How about everyone posting a list of local collections open to the public from your home town?

 

[Thingy]

In the same vein of constantly changing museums, I particularly enjoy Bovington Tank Museum, and having been able to visit The German Tank Museum at Munster and the French variant at Saumur, it was utterly fascinating to see the same subject as viewed through the eyes of other nations. To add to that, the different nationalities development of tanks followed different ideology.

One of the few museums that I have been to the had something for everyone was the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden. The aircraft collection and vintage motorbikes for me, the Swiss Garden and Plant Centre for madam, and the village of Old Warden itself really was superbly picturesque. I know the village is far older but walking through it gave me the distinct impression of the way it would have looked back in the 1940s.

 

[pitpony]

Thingy,
I think you will enjoy the Muckleburgh Collection over in Sheringham they have plenty tanks, artillery pieces and plenty of other stuff and most of it still runs, Brad Pit the movie actor learnt to drive a Sherman over there for the film 'Fury', they even my love child a WW2 Diamond 'T' wrecker, earlier this year I was building a diorama of a WW2 scene in Normandy and a 1/72 Diamond T wrecker, I could not work out which way the winch cables went but took plenty of photos when I spotted that,

 

[Thingy]

Thanks for that. Dont get that way often but Ill pick it up along the way somewhere.

 

[KeefySher]

Following the suggestion by the Prof.

Here in Basingstoke we have Milestones Living History Museum that records the history of the area and industrialisation, as well as a pub. There is also a traditional museum, Willis at the Top of Town.

https://hampshireculturaltrust.org.uk/milestones-museum

 

[Raywood]

Up here around Glasgow we have plenty of free museums including the large transport museum and an industrial one at Coatbridge. There are National trust and Historic Scotland properties where you do pay but otherwise all you are asked for is a voluntary donation and there are some real gems in that lot.

 

[crazyguider]

There are some amazing museums and art galleries here in Bath, you're really spoilt for choice. There also some excellent sites round about, too.

 

[saint-spoon]

Just wondering what you guys recommend for museum days out in the UK. I know there are some brilliant ones and some are pretty dire. Personally I found the following well worth a visit.

1) Historic Dockyard Portsmouth. Pricey, but so much to do it takes a couple of days, and your ticket covers 12 months.
2) Artillery Museum at Fort Nelson nr Fareham. Part of the Royal Armouries and free to enter. Some amazing stuff there too.

For many years I walked (or cycled) past the Victory and watched the new Mary Rose building being constructed. I have also had the unofficial Full tours of the HMS Victory and the warrior. What folk forget is that just across the water in Gosport there is the explosion Museum and the Submarine museum as well, the Submarine Museum in particular is a fantastic place with the ORIGINAL Holland 1 submarine and HMS Alliance WW2 submarine guided walk through.

 

[Thingy]

I have never had the time to get across and visit either, it seems when you arive at the Dockyard your whole day is swallowed with something you missed last time. They now have the last surviving ship from Gallipoli open as an exhibit. And of course Mary Rose is simply mind blowing.

 

[Martin24]

Both of those museums in Gosport are well worth the visit. Next time i'm down home I must revisit them all.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The suggestions so far all great, and I have beens to several of them already,

What I was hoping for was more about those smaller perhaps more specialised museums or collections that don't get national advertising; such as those that reflect a local trade, or a particular hobby., Local speciality shops (Hint - I like ice cream parlours)

Keep listing them