Days Out Archives - Neil Turner's Blog

Heaton Park

March 7, 2026 by Neil Turner

Somewhere that we go to regularly, but I have hitherto not blogged about, is Heaton Park in Manchester. It’s the largest public park in the north west of England, and, being in the north-east corner of Manchester, it’s only about half an hour’s drive from us.

To give you some idea of how big Heaton Park is, it effectively spans junctions 17, 18 and 19 of the M60 motorway. Indeed, depending on which of its multiple car parks you use, you may end up leaving the M60 at either junction 17 or 19. Its large size means that there are plenty of things to see and do inside the park.

History of Heaton Park

Heaton Park is the parklands surrounding Heaton Hall, which was built in the late 18th Century and remains to this day. Whilst originally in private hands, the park and hall transferred into public ownership in 1902, and has been open to the public ever since. The hall is Grade I listed, and is occasionally open to the public. Here’s a video of the inside.

The parklands were laid out with a lake and pleasure grounds whilst still in private ownership, and these remain today. There are a number of other listed structures and monuments across the park, including the colonnade from the original Manchester Town Hall which was re-assembled in the park when the current City Hall in Manchester city centre was built.

Playgrounds

There are two large playgrounds for kids at Heaton Park. One is by the hall, towards the northern end of the park, and has a space theme. The second is down by the lake, with a woodland theme. Both are far better than the average playground that you get in a typical municipal public park, both in terms of size, range of play equipment and that there’s a consistent theme. We mostly visit the park on weekends and they’re both always busy.

Heaton Park is also home to Zip World Manchester, a Go Ape style treetop adventure park. Whilst entry to the other playgrounds is free, this is a chargeable attraction. We’ve not done it yet.

Trams

As well as having a dedicated stop on Manchester’s Metrolink tram network, there are heritage trams that run on a short tramway within the park itself. This tramway is Britain’s only dedicated heritage tramway that still runs on original tram track, as it uses a short spur built by the original Manchester Corporation Tramways that runs into the park. It’s been extended a couple of times, most recently in 2011, and now runs from the edge of the park to the boating lake, over a distance of about half a mile. There are two depots, at each end, and one of these includes a small tramway museum inside the original waiting shelter.

Tram services usually run at weekends in the summer. The heritage trams all come from the north of England – some from Manchester but others from Blackpool.

Heaton Park Animal Centre

Behind the hall’s old stables block, which is now a café and toilets, is the Heaton Park Animal Centre. This would have been the farm for the hall in its heyday, and nowadays a range of animals live there. They’re mostly farm animals – chickens, sheep, pigs and donkeys – but there are some alpacas and a tortoise there too. Like the rest of the park, entry is free although its opening hours are limited to 10-4. Whilst not as impressive as places like Cannon Hall Farm, it’s nice to pop in and see the animals.

Boating lake

There’s a large lake towards the southern tip of Heaton Park, where you can hire a boat for 25 minutes at a time. There’s a choice of boats – some are electrically powered, but you can opt for a swan-shaped pedalo or a traditional rowing boat. Prices range from around £15-30 and ideally you should book ahead.

Other attractions

Other things that we haven’t really visited ourselves include a garden centre, golf course, and crown green bowls. There’s also a series of guided walking routes around the park, and like most public parks, there’s a Parkrun at 9am every Saturday. There are also multiple places to buy food, and plenty of ice cream vans.

In the summer, Heaton Park becomes an outdoor events venue – Oasis had their homecoming gig there last year.

Overall, Heaton Park offers enough for a full, varied day out – especially in summer. And, unless you need to pay for parking, the majority of what it offers is free. This is really important, in an age where lots of family activities cost increasing amounts of money. Whilst we often visit properties operated by the National Trust and are happy to pay for our annual membership, it’s really important that everyone has access to safe leisure activities and green space.

Accessibility

If you struggle with stairs, then you should still be able to get around most of the park as there are few steps. However, it is on a hillside, and some slopes may present a challenge for some powered wheelchairs. Disabled toilets are available, and there is a Changing Places toilet at the pavilion by the lake.

There are five car parks spread around the edge of the park. The largest of these is the Lake Car Park, with 263 spaces and a much larger overflow. We tend to use the Hall Car Park, which is closer to the hall, stables and animal centre and offers 252 spaces. All car parks have disabled spaces. Parking is pay and display, or using the PayByPhone app, and typically costs up to £4 to park all day.

The Golf Car Park, which is on the eastern tip of the park, is the only one with electric car charging facilities. It offers two 7 KW AC chargers on the Be.EV network; payment appears to be by app (including Zapmap and Electroverse) or RFID card. I haven’t used this one myself – as mentioned, it’s about a half hour drive for us. If you need a rapid charger, then there are several available around the perimeter of the park, including a 150 kW charger with five bays just off Junction 17 of the M60.

As mentioned, Heaton Park is served by Manchester Metrolink, with regular services on the Bury line. The tram stop is on the western edge of the park, across a road. Trams actually pass underneath the southern tip of the park in a tunnel.

A return trip to Cannon Hall Farm

February 19, 2026 by Neil Turner

A photo of the start of a ferret race at Cannon Hall Farm

Last weekend, we went back to Cannon Hall Farm, which is in the so-called ‘Tuscan hills‘ surrounding the town of Barnsley. We’ve been many times before, the most recent of which was in 2024, and I last wrote about it in 2017.

Since that visit, Cannon Hall Farm has seen a number of developments. All of the outdoor play areas have been renovated, with new equipment installed, and there are a couple of new indoor attractions. These include a reptile and minibeasts room, and a mammal house, where the lights are kept low as most of the mammals are normally nocturnal. In other words, it’s now a farm with a small animal zoo tacked on. I suppose they had to get a zoo license to have meerkats, which have been there for many years now, and have leaned into it. On the plus side, it means that there are more indoor areas, and so it’s still a good place to visit even if the weather isn’t great.

Still a farm

Despite the new additions, Cannon Hall Farm is still fundamentally a farm. There are still plenty of opportunities to see farm animals, and this time of year is a good time to visit. Many of the sheep have newborn lambs, some of which are wearing woolly jumpers donated by the public. We saw quite a few little bouncy bundles of joy on our visit.

There are also regular sheep and ferret races (pictured above) throughout the day. Get there a few minutes before the races start, and you can get a free coloured ticket; if that ticket is drawn after the race, then you win a free day pass for a return visit. That’s assuming that your chosen colour of ferret doesn’t decide to fall asleep for the duration of the race.

The huge soft play gym is still there, which again is good for rainy days. There are also more food options available; as well as the Hungry Llama inside the soft play gym and the White Bull at the entrance, there’s now a dog-friendly café called the Lucky Pup, also at the entrance.

Expanding into other media

Nowadays, Cannon Hall Farm is well-known nationally, thanks to various TV programmes on Channel 5. They’re also very active on Facebook, offering ticketed live streams for events such as lambing season.

The Nicholson family, who have owned the farm since the late 1950s, have now written three books and a cookbook, all of which can be bought at the farm or online. There’s also a wide range of branded merchandise, including an official set of Top Trumps.

Accessibility

As mentioned, Cannon Hall Farm is on a hillside, so the site is on a slope. However, almost everything has step-free access. Wheelchairs and mobility scooters are available to hire. Assistance dogs are welcome, but ideally with some form of identification – it is, after all, a farm, and so untrained pet dogs shouldn’t be brought along as they may upset the animals.

There is a Changing Places toilet next door at the Cannon Hall Museum (which I also wrote about in 2017), however, the museum is shut until next month. Having one on site, as well as a dedicated quiet space, would be really good additions to improve accessibility for people with more profound disability needs.

There is a £3 charge to park on site; it’s pay and display (cash and cards accepted), although you can also pay in advance online when purchasing tickets. If you want to visit by public transport, there’s the number 94 bus from Barnsley bus and rail interchange which runs every two hours to the nearby village of Cawthorne. From there, it’s about half a mile off-street walk through the Cannon Hall Country Park.

Entry prices vary; midweek is usually cheaper than weekends. Carers get in free with a paid ticket, and Max card holders can (at the time of writing) get up to two free tickets – one each per paid ticket.

Thackray Museum of Medicine

January 28, 2026 by Neil Turner

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds. It’s next to St James Hospital, and tells the history of medical care in the UK from the 18th century until the present day.

History of the Thackray Museum

The Thackray Museum first opened in 1997, so it’s just shy of its 30th anniversary. It gets its name from the pharmacist Charles Thackray, who opened a chemist shop in Leeds in 1902; over time, the company branched out into manufacturing medical devices such as replacement hips. The company’s archive, in the care of Charles Thackray’s grandson Paul, became the basis of the museum’s collection.

The building housing the museum pre-dates the hospital next door, and opened in 1861 as a workhouse. However, a medical wing was established, and it was requisitioned as a hospital during the first world war. It then remained in use as part of St James Hospital until 1990, when it was deemed no longer fit for modern medical use. However, by this time it had become Grade II listed, and so rather than demolish it, the building was converted for use as a museum.

This wasn’t our first trip to the Thackray Museum. I visited with my parents when I was still living in York, within a few years of it opening, and Christine and I visited some time in the early 2010s when we were living together. We also visited in 2022, as a family of three; this was our first visit following a major refurbishment that started just before the Covid-19 pandemic. So our visit this month was our fourth visit.

Inside the Thackray Museum

Whilst you can pick and choose the order in which you view each of the museum galleries, the recommended route is to start off with Disease Street. This is a recreation of a street in Leeds in the early nineteenth century, towards the start of the Industrial Revolution when large numbers of people moved into the cities to work. You can choose to follow the fate of a person who would have lived during that time, and would find out why diseases thrived in the filthy conditions that working people had to live in. The person we chose ended up dying of consumption (tuberculosis) aged just 27.

Opposite Disease Street is a recreation of an old operating theatre, from a time before anaesthesia. You can watch a recreation of an operation on a young girl having an amputation, following a factory accident. Or not; the room rightly comes with significant trigger warnings and certainly our ten-year-old wasn’t keen to watch. But, you can see why we still refer to such rooms in hospitals as ‘theatres’ as they were designed to accommodate lots of spectators.

Also downstairs is Disease Detectives, about microorganisms and their impact on our health. There’s quite a bit about our microbiome and how this is an emerging area of science that is updating our understanding of the role of bacteria.

A photo of the apothecary collection inside the Thackray Museum of Medicine

Upstairs

Christine’s favourite bit of the Thackray Museum is the apothecary shop, which has (probably) the world’s largest collection of ceramic apothecary jars. It explains the role of an apothecary, and how this evolved over time into the modern day Pharmacist. Outside, there used to be a jar of live leeches, but it wasn’t there when we visited this time.

The largest room upstairs is home to Cutting Edge, which shows some of the museum’s collection of medical equipment, and how this has changed over time. Something that the museum has always had is an ’empathy belly’, which is a wearable harness that simulates what it’s like to be pregnant. You can try it on yourself; it’s not the original one from 1997 but a newer one of a type used in current medical training.

Opposite is another large gallery called Normal and Me. This focusses on the stories of people who live with various disabilities or health problems, as well as ‘normal’ life stages such as puberty. It includes plenty of artwork by local artist Bobbie Rae, who we’ve met at Thought Bubble these past two times. To the side of this is an exhibition about medical car in war zones, and a section about sexual health.

Inclusivity

As you would expect from a museum that underwent a major renovation this decade, some effort has been put in to ensuring that the exhibits are inclusive. A description of a pregnancy test refers to ‘people with a uterus’, to include trans men and non-binary people who may want to see if they are pregnant, for example. And there are contributions from LGBTQ+ people, including those unfortunate enough to have experience conversion therapy.

Leeds is a diverse city, and its healthcare workforce especially so, and again, this is represented in the museum. It’s also very up-to-date, with several exhibits related to the Covid-19 pandemic, and recent medical advances.

Accessibility

Accessibility at the Thackray Museum is pretty good; despite it being an older building, there are wide doorways, a changing places toilet and sensory spaces. However, when we visited, the lift was broken.

The Thackray Museum is run by a charity, and there is some flexibility with the admissions prices depending on your circumstances and how generous you feel. You can therefore pay £9 per person, or more – there’s a £16 per person ticket which subsidises the £9 tickets for others. Under 7s get in free, as do holders of the National Art Pass and Max Cards.

There is some on-site parking, which is right outside the front entrance. It’s pay-and-display at £2 per hour, or you can pay on the PayByPhone app. A typical visit will be 2-4 hours; there’s a café, shop and a kid’s soft play area as well. The car park doesn’t offer electric vehicle charging, but there’s a Morrisons offering rapid charging a short drive away (CCS2 plugs only, no CHAdeMO).

As it’s next to St James Hospital, the museum is served by regular direct buses from Leeds Bus Station. If you arrive in Leeds by train, then the number 16 bus leaves from City Square, near the station, and drops you pretty much outside the museum. Otherwise, it’s a 45 minute walk from Leeds station.

Hardwick Hall

January 16, 2026 by Neil Turner

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. It’s a National Trust property to the east of Chesterfield, and I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of it until a few weeks ago.

I came across it via this YouTube video from Auto Shenanigans. The M1 passes by Hardwick Hall, and when it was upgraded to be a ‘smart’ motorway a few years ago, the National Trust insisted that the new gantries must be painted brown, to blend in better. Anyway, it turns out Hardwick Hall is doable as a day trip for us, even though I didn’t include it in my list from last year. And, it’s something of a new year’s resolution for me to visit more National Trust places this year, so that we make the most of our annual membership.

History of Hardwick Hall

You can read a more detailed history of Hardwick Hall on the National Trust web site, but the building owes much of its design to Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury who lived in the Elizabethan period. She was more commonly known as ‘Bess of Hardwick’, and her initials ‘ES’ appear all over the building. She had four husbands during her life, the second of which was William Cavendish. If the Cavendish name sounds familiar, it’s because the Cavendish family owned nearby Chatsworth and Bolton Abbey. Indeed, following Bess’ death in 1607, the hall passed to the Cavendish family’s ownership, where it remained until after the Second World War. Faced with a large tax bill, the Cavendish family bequeathed Hardwick Hall to the National Trust in 1956.

More recently, Hardwick Hall has been used as a filming location. You may recognise it as ‘Malfoy Manor’ in the film adaptations of the books-that-shall-not-be-named.

Nowadays, it is one of the National Trust’s ‘top tier’ properties, and so there are regular events there during school holidays. We visited towards the end of ‘Wintertide’, which saw the rooms decorated for an Elizabethan winter and a seasonable tale of mischief installed throughout the house and gardens. During the half term break next month, there’s a planned Valentines event for kids.

Hardwick Old Hall

On the same site are the remnants of an older grand house, now known as Hardwick Old Hall. Most of the outer walls remain, but there’s no overall roof or window panes. It didn’t burn down; instead, the stonework was gradually removed and shipped over to Chatsworth to support work there. It would have been cheaper to use existing carved stones, than to have new stone quarried. Whilst the wider Hardwick site is managed by the National Trust, Hardwick Old Hall is in the care of English Heritage. It was closed when we went, but re-opens in February.

Gardens and estate

The Hardwick estate covers around 2500 acres of parkland, and there are a number of signposted walks. This includes a sculpture walk, which we would have considered doing on a warmer day but decided not to.

The formal gardens around the house are enclosed within walls, and will probably look fabulous later in the year. Alas, there’s not much to see mid-winter,

Accessibility

There are two car parks at Hardwick Hall; the main one, close to the hall and the stableyard, and a second one at Hardwick Park Centre which is further away and down a hill. If you have accessibility needs, park at the main car park; there is also an accessible buggy that can take visitors to the hall. The stableyard includes a Changing Places toilet.

At present, there is one electric vehicle charging socket in the lower car park (type 2). Planning permission for chargers in the main car park has apparently been granted, but work hadn’t started yet as I type this.

Google Maps gave up when I asked it to work out public transport directions to Hardwick Hall; there doesn’t appear to be any local bus services and the nearest railway station is in Chesterfield.

Entry to the whole site is free for National Trust members, and English Heritage members get free entry to both Hardwick Hall itself and Hardwick Old Hall. A cheaper ticket that just covers the estate and stableyard (not the houses or gardens) is also available to non-members.

Visiting the seals at Flamborough Head

January 11, 2026 by Neil Turner

A photo of Flamborough Head, showing a cove with a beach that is full of resting seals

Every autumn, for the past few years, a large group of Atlantic grey seals make a temporary home on one of the beaches at Flamborough Head for breeding. And over the Christmas break, we popped along to see them.

The seals haven’t always gravitated to Flamborough. It’s only been in the past few years that they have appeared there. I used to go to Flamborough quite a bit when I was younger, as my paternal grandparents lived nearby and my Dad was brought up in nearby Bridlington. It may be a sign of a stronger seal population.

The best time to visit is really in October and November. This is the core breeding season, and so you are more likely to see seal cubs at this time. By the time we visited in late December, most of the cubs were mostly or fully grown. Still, there were probably 50-60 seals there – more than we saw on the Farne Islands in 2024.

Access down to the cove, where most of the seals congregate, is restricted. The population is being monitored by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, and we saw signage from the University of Hull’s marine biology unit who are involved in research there. However, you get a good view of them from a safe distance from the headlands.

A young seal sleeping on the beach at Flamborough Head

Accessibility

We parked at the Flamborough Head and Lighthouse car park, which is the nearest car park. It’s pay and display, or you can pay on the MiPermit app. Electric vehicle charging isn’t currently available in the car park – we used a rapid charger at the Co-op supermarket in the nearby village of Sewerby.

From the car park, there are unpaved footpaths down to the cliff edge. These are uneven and a little steep in places, and probably not suitable for wheelchairs. Also be aware that the cliff edge doesn’t have any railings or barriers, so bear this in mind if you have young children or dogs with you.

Bridlington is the nearest town with a railway station; from there, you’ll need to catch the number 14 ‘Coaster’ service which runs hourly and can drop you in Flamborough village. From there, it’s about a 10 minute walk.

Other things to see

Flamborough Head in itself is interesting from a geology perspective, as it’s a relatively hard chunk of chalk in an area where most of the nearby coastline is eroding away. You can tell that I studied this for A-level Geography, can’t you?

There is a café at the car park – we stopped there for lunch on our visit. I bet they’re glad that the seals are providing extra custom in the winter.

Flamborough actually has two lighthouses. The one that is currently in use dates from the early 19th century, although it’s now completely automated. It used to be open for tours, but it’s not open at present. The second is slightly further inland and known as the Chalk Tower – it’s the oldest surviving complete lighthouse in England and is now grade II* listed.

Nearby is Sewerby Hall, which is a manor house, gardens, and small zoo, and to the north is RSPB Bempton Cliffs. Plus, there are all the attractions in the seaside town of Bridlington, further along the coast.

York’s Chocolate Story

November 27, 2025 by Neil Turner

York, my city of birth, is known for a lot of historical things – the Romans, the Vikings, the medieval city walls and others. But it’s also known for chocolate, and was once home to three large confectionary companies: Rowntree’s, Terry’s and Cravens. And the story of York’s chocolate industry is the focus of one of its newer museums: York’s Chocolate Story.

Christine and I visited shortly after it opened, back before we got married, in 2012. Then, it was known as Chocolate: York’s Sweet Story, but its name has changed since. I hadn’t been back since – Christine had her hen do there – but last weekend I took our nine-year-old along.

Having visited Cadbury World earlier in the summer, it was good to compare the two. Cadbury World is a Merlin attraction, and so it’s more of an indoor theme park with some history. Meanwhile, York’s Chocolate Story, is primarily a museum, although both offer you chocolate samples to eat on your way around.

Inside York’s Chocolate Story

Guests follow a guided tour around the museum, although there are videos to watch as well. Whilst we waited for the rest of the group to come up in the lift, our knowledgeable guide asked everyone what their favourite chocolate bar was, and he was able to quickly look up when they first went on sale. It turns out that many chocolate bars have been around longer than we might expect.

The first room is about the ancient history of chocolate, and how Spanish colonialists ‘discovered’ it when they reached Mexico. At this point, you get to try a sample of the bitter chocolate drink that people would have drunk back then.

Next, we’re introduced to the aforementioned three confectionary businesses, and the people behind them. Of these, Rowntree’s still has a factory in York, but is now part of the massive Nestlé conglomerate. Terry’s are still making chocolate, but the York factory (close to where I went to secondary school) is now flats, with production shifted to Strasbourg. Whilst I’m old enough to remember Craven’s sweets, the company is no longer around.

Making chocolate

We then head downstairs, to find out more about how chocolate bars are made. This included a chance to make our own white chocolate lollipop, with a choice of flavours. They use white chocolate as it sets more quickly. We could also watch a demonstration where filled chocolate truffles were made, and of course we got samples to taste. The same room has a history of KitKats, and you can watch various classic KitKat TV adverts too.

All in all, it takes about an hour to get around. Of course, there’s a shop at the end which also does a range of hot chocolate.

Accessibility

Being a newer museum, accessibility is good – there’s a lift taking you to all floors. It’s in York city centre, around the corner from The Shambles, so within walking distance of the station. Whilst you can try to park your car in York city centre, please don’t – we saw loads of people queueing to get into car parks and blocking the roads whilst doing so, and besides, you’ll pay a small fortune. Instead, take one of the six Park and Ride services.

It’s best to book in advance – if you turn up on the day, all the tour slots may have gone or you may have to hang around for a while. Plus, there’s a 20% discount for booking in advance, and York residents get a 30% discount for visits on Sundays.

Thought Bubble 2025

November 19, 2025 by Neil Turner

A photo of the comics, posters and related paraphernalia that we picked up at Thought Bubble

Last Sunday, we went to Thought Bubble Festival Comic Con in Harrogate. Overall, it’s our fifth time that we’ve been, and the second year in a row.

We first went to Thought Bubble in 2014. Back then, it was hosted at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, and used their event space, the New Dock Hall and a temporary marquee. We also went in 2016, when Christine was pregnant, and again in 2017, with our then 10 month old baby in tow.

We then had a seven year gap, before going back last year. By this point, Thought Bubble had outgrown the Royal Armouries, and so it’s now hosted at the Harrogate Convention Centre. This was first built in 1982, and hosted that year’s Eurovision Song Contest thanks to Bucks Fizz winning with ‘Making Your Mind Up’ the year before. It’s been expanded a couple of times since, and Thought Bubble takes over 4 of the halls plus the Queen’s Suite.

What we like about Thought Bubble is that the focus is on comic art and the artists that create it. The only celebrities there are the comic artists themselves – you generally won’t find anyone who’s acted in a superhero film here. And whilst there are comic artists for the likes of Marvel, DC and Dark Horse here, there are many, many independent creators too. Amongst these creators, LGBTQ+ people are well-represented, and there were a few people of colour there too. This is no accident – Thought Bubble offers micro-bursaries to under-represented groups, which is really welcome. After all, comic books are about telling stories, and it’s great to have a wide variety of people able to tell their stories.

Kid’s zone

Another great thing about Thought Bubble is that about half of one hall is a designated kid’s zone. This includes those whose comics are primarily for kids, but also includes a play area, and a big area sponsored by The Phoenix. The Phoenix is a weekly kids comic – a bit like the Beano in some respects, except the individual comic artists are more prominent. If you’ve ever come across Bunny vs Monkey, Super Robo Bros or Donut Squad, these are all regulars in The Phoenix. Our nine-year-old loves all of these, and was delighted to be able to take part in a workshop with Donut Squad’s creator, Neill Cameron.

The photo at the top shows most of the things we picked up there, which should keep us busy for a while. Christine also bought a new pair of socks, and we bought a couple of games, including The Necrohamster.

I’m pretty sure we’ll go back next year. It’s fun and all three of us enjoy it.

Kelham Island Museum

November 17, 2025 by Neil Turner

If I had to guess where the Kelham Island Museum was, I’d probably suggest it was somewhere off the coast of northern England. It’s not – it’s in Sheffield city centre, and it’s a museum of Sheffield’s industrial history.

The Kelham Island Museum has been on my to-do list for several years. I seem to remember that, in the past, it was only open on weekdays, which made visiting difficult. Thankfully, it is now open at weekends, and so we went along last weekend for our first visit.

I like a good industrial museum, and the north of England is full of them. I’ve been to the ones in Manchester, Leeds, Halifax, Bradford, and I suppose the World of Glass in St Helens counts too. And whilst St Helens is known for its glass, Sheffield is know for its steel. So, you’ll find a lot of steel at the Kelham Island Museum – it’s home to the Hawley Tool Collection, which is the world’s largest collection of tools. What’s nice about the tool collection is that, whilst many items are on display, there are also pull-out drawers with plenty more to see if you’re so inclined.

The River Don Engine

If you visit at the right time on Thursdays through to Saturdays, you’ll get to see the River Don Engine powered up – it’s the photo you can see at the top. This is an absolute beast of a steam engine, and is currently the most powerful working steam engine in Europe. During its working life, it was, as you would expect, used for making steel. Its maximum output is around 12,000 horsepower, which is around 9 megawatts or the equivalent of 3 wind turbines at full speed.

Whilst it now lives in the Kelham Island Museum, the River Don Engine used to be elsewhere in Sheffield. Indeed, despite its massive size, it’s been moved twice in its lifetime. It last underwent restoration in 2007, when the museum was flooded, ironically, by the namesake River Don.

Kelham Island

The Kelham Island Museum gets its name from Kelham Island, an artificial island in the River Don dating back to the 12th Century. Back then, a mill race was constructed to power water mills. The museum itself is in what was originally an iron foundry, and later a power station for Sheffield’s first generation electric trams. The museum isn’t the only building on the island – there’s also student accommodation to serve Sheffield’s two large universities, and the Kelham Island Brewery.

It’s also worth noting the museum café, Joni, which does very good food – certainly way above average for a museum of its size. In fact, you may need to phone ahead and book a table on busy days. There’s also a pub, The Millowners Arms.

We visited in an afternoon, which wasn’t quite enough time to get around the whole museum, so it’s probably almost a full day out.

Accessibility

As mentioned above, Kelham Island Museum is in Sheffield city centre. There is limited on-site parking, which you need to pay for at a machine or on the RingGo app. Alternatively, it’s a five minute walk from Shalesmoor tram stop, or a 25 minute walk from Sheffield’s main railway station (so you may wish to consider the aforementioned tram).

Entrance is free, but donations are welcome. The museum shop is also great – especially if you or people you know like the local delicacy, Henderson’s Relish.

If you’re in a wheelchair or can’t handle stairs, then you should still be able to see most of the museum. Not all of the floors are flat. A lift is provided to the upper floors. The River Don Engine, when it’s in steam, is particularly noisy.

The World of Glass

November 3, 2025 by Neil Turner

Until a few weeks ago, I wasn’t aware that there was a museum dedicated to glass in St Helens. But Diamond Geezer recently visited on one of his non-London gadabouts, and so I took our nine-year-old along to The World of Glass last month.

The World of Glass opened in 2000, and fulfils several roles as a museum. Obviously, the focus is on glass, and so there’s a history of glassmaking starting with the ancient Egyptians through to the present day. In particular, it focusses on glassmaking in St Helens – the location of the museum is no accident. If your house has windows made by Pilkington Glass, then St Helens is where the company was founded. And, as the town’s main museum, it also covers the history of the town, especially during the Industrial Revolution. It’s also home to the St Helens central library.

Entry to the museum is through an original brick cone, used for glass making and designed to draw cool air in from the bottom. This features an art installation by Johnny Vegas – yes, that Johnny Vegas – who is local to the area.

Inside the museum

Though this is its 25th year, it’s clearly had some updates to its exhibits since then. I think it manages to strike a good balance between things in glass cabinets, and interactive exhibits to keep kids entertained. Certainly, our nine-year-old enjoyed learning about fibre-optic communications, and the various light and colour mixing activities. Its star attraction is a chandelier that was salvaged from Manchester Airport during a refurbishment, made of hundreds of hand-blown Venetian glass tubes.

As well as the main exhibition, there’s an art gallery in the main building. Then, there’s a bridge over the Sankey Canal to the Tank House, which is the proper old bit. This is the remains of an original glassmaking furnace, used by Pilkingtons. Much of it had been filled in with rubble, and had to be dug out by archaeologists. You get to go down into the tunnels (hard hats available) to see inside the furnace. Incidentally, the bit of the canal next to the Tank House was known as ‘The Hotties’ because the water used to cool the furnace would be pumped out here, warming the canal water. There are photos of it being used for bathing.

We visited on a Sunday, which meant that we didn’t get to see a glass-blowing demonstration. These take place on other days of the week, usually at 12pm and 2pm. Whereas the museum itself has free entry, this is a paid-for addon.

In all, we spent a couple of hours at The World of Glass. If you stop to look at everything, you could probably eke out another half an hour, plus the time for the glass-blowing. There is also a café, although the menu was very limited when we visited.

Accessibility

As mentioned, entrance is free, though donations are welcome. As befits a museum of its age, accessibility is pretty good, although the Tank House tunnels are a confined space. It’s on two floors with a lift available.

There’s a small pay and display car park on site, which is free on Sundays and Bank Holidays. It’s also a very short walk from St Helens Central station, which has direct trains from Liverpool, Wigan, Preston and Blackpool. St Helens bus station is a little further, but still within walking distance.

Rude Science

October 28, 2025 by Neil Turner

If you like explosions, or want to know what chemicals make up a fart, then the Rude Science live show may be right up your street. Especially if, like us, you have kids in the 6-14 age bracket.

The Rude Science show came to the Victoria Theatre in Halifax last weekend, and so we took our nine-year-old along. It was hosted as part of this year’s Halifax Comedy Festival, which runs until Sunday.

Rude Science is hosted by Stefan Gates, who has hosted and guested on a number of BBC TV shows, for both kids and adults. He’s also the author of a number of books – we picked up his Rude Science (sponsored link) and Insects: An Edible Field Guide (sponsored link) from the foyer after the show, and had them signed. Oh yes, I should mention that Stefan has a thing for ‘eating the science’ and this includes various substances used during the show.

The show is very well put together, considering that it incorporates highly flammable materials and lots of different cameras (including infrared) and smoke machines. Certainly, there were only one or two minor balloon-related technical hitches. And whilst it wasn’t quite a sell-out crowd, there were very few of the 1500 or so seats remaining empty at the Victoria in the showing that we saw.

Rude Science is well targeted at upper primary and lower secondary school aged kids, and has a good balance of being funny, engaging and educational. Our nine-year-old really enjoyed it. The show remains on tour for the rest of this week, with it being half-term – it’s in Hull tonight, Guildford on Thursday, Chelmsford on Friday and Reading on Sunday. At each venue, there’s usually a lunchtime and afternoon slot, and, with an interval, the show runs for around two hours. It’s then back on the road for February half term.