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The Black Country Living Museum

June 4, 2024 by Neil Turner

Following our trip to Dudley Zoo and Castle, we went to the other major tourist attraction in Dudley: the Black Country Living Museum.

Those of us living in the North of England may be familiar with Beamish, which is a large, outdoor museum showing what life was like in the North East during various time periods. The Black Country Living Museum is very similar, but based in the Black Country. This is the area around Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, and probably gets its name from the mining and/or burning of coal.

Visitors can walk around various buildings that have been transplanted or recreated from the area. These include an array of shops – some of which sell things to buy – as well as a couple of pubs and fish and chip shops. There’s also a school where you can have a ‘lesson’ as if it were the 1950s, and a fairground. The museum also backs onto the Dudley Canal, and a cut from the canal goes through the museum.

Transport

It’s quite a large site, and so there are transport options to get you from the visitor centre at the entrance into the recreated town. On the day we went, this was a classic diesel bus, but there’s also an electrically-powered trolleybus that was parked up. There’s a tram line as well, but this is currently out of use.

Mines

As mentioned, coal probably inspired the name of the Black Country, and so there are two mines on site. One is a deep mine, The Racecourse Colliery, and the other is a ‘drift mine’ which can be entered on foot. The latter is open for tours, although it’s a realistic simulation rather than a real mine. It does mean that it’s unlikely to collapse, but you’ll need to wear a hard hat as it includes low ceilings that would be typical in this type of mine.

There’s plenty to see, and I would advise going at a weekend when more events take place as we did. Like many attractions, your tickets are valid for one year after your visit, so we may go back another time to see some of the other demonstrations. As you would expect, the museum is also frequently used for filming shows such as Peaky Blinders.

As usual, you can view several more photos on Flickr.

Accessibility

The site is on a slope, and some powered wheelchairs may struggle in some places. Some buildings have narrow entranceways or steps, and the drift mine is uneven under foot. There is an accessible bus available if booked in advance. Some of the industrial exhibits may produce loud and unexpected noises.

The Cartoon Museum

March 19, 2024 by Neil Turner

This is the fourth in the series of blog posts about places we went to in London – you can also read about the Bank of England Museum, the Cute exhibition at Somerset House, and the Young V&A.

On our last day in London, we went to the Cartoon Museum in Soho. It’s a relatively new museum, opening initially in 2006 and in its current location in 2019. It’s also quite small – allow a maximum of two hours – but with plenty to see. The walls are packed with illustrations going back a couple of hundred years, right up to now – the newest being Ben Jennings’ cartoon of Queen Elizabeth II taking the Elizabeth Line into the light when her death was announced in September 2022. It is mostly lots of pictures on walls, but there is a Spitting Image puppet on display as well.

At the moment, there’s a Wallace & Gromit exhibition, marking 30 years since the release of The Wrong Trousers. There’s several models on show, as well as some behind the scenes photos and some of the equipment used to film it. You can also see the actual Oscar that Nick Park won, although no photos are permitted of this. The exhibition is on until the 16th April.

A smaller exhibition shows the work of Oluwasegun Babatunde, a Nigerian comic artist who created a team of superheros based in Sub-Saharan Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is on until the end of this month.

There’s also an activity room where you can create your own comic strips, and of course the ubiquitous shop.

Accessibility

The nearest tube stations to the Cartoon Museum are Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road. The museum is located in a basement, down a set of stairs, and sadly the lift has been broken since 2022. A recent crowdfunder to fit a new lift didn’t quite reach its goal but hopefully this will be fixed soon. Ear defenders and sensory backpacks are available to borrow once inside.

Young V&A

March 17, 2024 by Neil Turner

This is the third in the series of blog posts about places we went to in London – you can also read about the Bank of England Museum and the Cute exhibition at Somerset House.

The Young V&A is the new name for the V&A Museum of Childhood. It’s still in the same place, outside central London in Bethnal Green, but the new name reflects a complete refurbishment. We last went in 2017, and it’s changed massively since then. Before, it was very much a museum, with lots of objects in big glass cases and not much to interact with. Now, whilst there are still some objects to look at, it’s a much more interactive space, and somewhere to bring young children to play. Indeed, our eight-year-old was probably one of the older kids there. Dropping the ‘museum’ from the title therefore makes sense.

The gallery spaces have been split into themes – Play, Imagine and Design. Play arguably caters for the youngest children, although there’s a big screen with a playable Minecraft version of the museum (thankfully it resets regularly to discourage hogging). Imagine includes the dollhouse collection from before, and design looks at how products are designed. There’s a particular focus on recycling waste into useful furniture.

Japan: Myths and Manga

Then there’s an exhibition space, and the opening exhibition is called Japan: Myths to Manga. Whilst the main museum is free to enter, you have to pay to access the exhibition space, and tickets are limited. We made the mistake of not booking in advance, so when we were ready to visit the exhibition on a Saturday afternoon, no more tickets were left. So, we ended up booking tickets for the Sunday and came back the following day.

Personally, I concur with Ianvisits and found the exhibition a little under-whelming, but my wife and child seemed much more engaged. The exhibition is rather sparse, and I would have expected to see more objects there. However, I’m not in the target market for this and we did spend over an hour in the exhibition. There’s several clips from Studio Ghibli films to watch and plenty of Pokemon; but it was also good to read about the traditional Japanese stories and myths which inspired these works.

Accessibility

Because our hotel was located between Aldgate and Whitechapel, we caught the bus to the Young V&A, but it’s also a short walk from Bethnal Green tube station which is on the Central Line. It’s also not too far from Cambridge Heath station on the London Overground, on what will soon be known as the Weaver Line. Around the corner is the new permanent home of the Vagina Museum, although we didn’t have chance to visit this time around.

As you would expect from a recently-renovated museum, there is step free access everywhere, and there’s a dedicated quiet space in the Reading Room. Which we found quite welcome; although the renovation has been extensive, it’s a listed building and so there are limits. Any building popular with children is bound to be noisy, and the open space in the middle is quite echo-y.

Bank of England Museum

March 10, 2024March 9, 2024 by Neil Turner

The first place we went to on our trip to London last weekend was the Bank of England Museum. Which is pretty much what you would expect it to be – a museum based at the Bank of England headquarters in the City of London. Access is via a side entrance, and, as you would expect, you have to go through a security scanner to get in.

This is only the second time that I have been to the Bank of England Museum. The first time was a long time ago. I can’t remember exactly when, but I was definitely still living at home, so probably 25-ish years ago. Part of the reason for this is that the museum is only open on weekdays, and we normally visit London at weekends. As we had the benefit of an extra day, we were able to visit last Friday.

It’s not a big museum – a typical visit will take 1-2 hours – but it’s free to get in. And the exhibits are regularly updated. As shown in the photo above, there are samples of the new coins and banknotes featuring King Charles III which are not yet in general circulation. I was also amused by the satirical FTX t-shirt in an exhibit about cryptocurrencies. These are in a new exhibition called The Future of Money, which opened a couple of days before we travelled and runs until next September.

Like many museums, the Bank of England Museum has also acknowledged the darker sides of its past. Recent new exhibits include copies of ledgers listing the names of slaves that came into the bank’s possession, and there’s a display about the Windrush generation. On arrival in the UK, many of those who travelled on the Empire Windrush to start new lives were denied access to traditional banks, and the museum has a series of panels on Pardner Hand to allow people to borrow or save money.

Other permanent exhibits include some examples of forged bank notes (including some introduced by the Nazis in the Second World War to de-stabilise the economy), and of course there’s plenty on the history of the bank.

If you haven’t been to the Bank of England Museum before, I’d recommend going. It’s not a full day out, but it’s free and there are some interactive elements for children.

Accessibility

Predictably, the nearest tube station is Bank, which has step-free access from the Northern and Waterloo & City Lines, and the DLR. There are steps in the museum, including at the entrance, however, security staff can escort those with mobility issues from the bank’s main entrance and ramps can be provided once inside. There isn’t a quiet room, but ear defenders are available to borrow.

Recent days out

March 6, 2026January 22, 2024 by Neil Turner

A model of an armoured elephant at the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds

Although it’s currently the bleak midwinter – and I mean bleak, with sub-zero (Celsius) temperatures last week and Storm Isha this week – we have managed a few days out. Some of these were in the first week of the year, as our eight-year-old didn’t go back to the school until the following week.

Here’s where we’ve been:

Manchester Science & Industry Museum

A photo of Stephen Hawking's wheelchair, currently on display at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester

The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester is somewhere that we typically end up at least once a year. This time was mainly for the Food, Poo and You exhibition, which features content from the presenters of Operation Ouch (including Dr Chris, writer of Ultra-Processed People). It didn’t take much convincing our eight-year-old to go to an exhibition about poo, and it’s well presented. Just be aware that, whilst the rest of the museum is free, this is a paid-for exhibition and you’re advised to pre-book. My wife happened to be working that day and so I expect we’ll be going back before it finishes in June, after which it’ll probably go to the Science Museum in London.

Also there at the moment is Prof Stephen Hawking’s wheelchair. I was naturally more excited about this than our eight-year-old was.

What isn’t at the museum at the moment is, well, about three quarters of the museum. It’s just what’s available in the ‘New Warehouse’; a huge restoration programme means that the other buildings are closed. The Power Hall should be open again next year if all goes well.

Eureka

Considering how often I pass Eureka, and the fact that we have a young child, it’s perhaps surprising that it’s been almost seven years since my last visit. And like that time, it was partly due to some Tesco Clubcard vouchers expiring. The museum hasn’t changed much in that time; the main difference was that the car garage is now a community area with a bus and a smaller electric car exhibit.

It’s still a good museum for half a day, and at eight years old our child isn’t too old for it. There’s a new Eureka, focussing more on science for slightly older kids, in Wirral which we need to visit at some point.

Royal Armouries, Leeds

A disarmed AK-47 rifle that has been covered in sprinkles and Love Hearts sweets

The last time we went to the Royal Armouries was for Thought Bubble, back in 2016. Museums about war and armour aren’t really my thing, but our eight-year-old had read a library book about them recently and so it was an opportunity to see some of those things in real life.

The Reloaded exhibition is interesting, as it looked at guns as gifts and objects of desire. There were also a couple of commissioned art pieces, such as an AK-47 covered with sprinkles and Love Hearts. It’s always fun to see the elephant armour too.

We have a few more busy weekends coming up, so I doubt we’ll be going anywhere else for a few weeks.

Crich Tramway Village

December 31, 2024August 5, 2018 by Neil Turner

Back in May, on the way back from a wedding in Leicester, we dropped into Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire. Crich is home to the National Tramway Museum, and has a large number of heritage trams from Britain and abroad that run up and down a mile long track.

At the lower end of the site is the village, with various heritage buildings that have been transplanted from elsewhere and re-assembled. There’s also the main tram sheds, for those trams that are still in working use, and a museum with some trams as static displays. The trams in the museum are arranged in date order, right from the first horse-drawn trams, to those that were built shortly before trams were withdrawn across almost all of the UK in the 1960s. Famously, Blackpool was a hold-out and kept its trams, and several examples are now here at Crich too. It was slightly weird seeing a tram that I’ve seen in service in Blackpool not too long ago, now in a museum.

Heading up the hill out of the village is a large park for kids to play in, and then a forest trail with various sculptures to look at. There’s even a wooden Mr Potato Head.

Entry to the site permits unlimited rides on the trams. The village has a variety of places to eat and drink; the pub on site was having a beer festival when we visited. And like many attractions, your entry fee gets you an annual pass, so that you can return any time within 12 months for free. Alas, it’s a little bit too far for a day trip for us so we may not be able to take advantage of a return visit unless we’re in the area for another reason.

Even if you’re not quite so interested in public transport as I am, it’s a good day out as there’s plenty to do. It helps if you choose a day with good weather, though, as it’s mostly outdoors.

Cannon Hall

February 14, 2026July 30, 2017 by Neil Turner

Yesterday, I wrote about Cannon Hall Farm. The farm gets its name from Cannon Hall, a country house on the same site, which is now open to the public as a museum.

Whereas the farm is privately-owned, Cannon Hall is now run by Barnsley Council as the home for its collections. Inside, you can find out about Moorcroft Pottery, which is still going today, along with the history of the hall. Several of the rooms have been decked out with their original Georgian furnishings.

Cannon Hall is a popular wedding venue, and this is reflected in its current special exhibition, Tales of the Wedding Dress. You can see the wedding dresses worn by several famous actresses in major films, such as those worn by Keira Knightly in Pride and Prejudice, or Jenna Coleman in Victoria. There are also several dresses made in Barnsley, and the stories of the brides who wore them. These range from the very recent to earlier twentieth century examples. This exhibition runs until the 3rd September, so you have just over a month to visit it.

Outside the hall are some extensive public gardens. We didn’t have time to look at these unfortunately, but what we could see looked nice. Although it’s in the Barnsley metropolitan district, the countryside in this area is actually very picturesque.

We didn’t plan to visit Cannon Hall but it was a nice brief diversion. If you’re visiting the farm next door, it may be worth setting aside up to an hour to visit the museum as well. Entry is free, although you will need to pay to park in the farm’s car park.

Quarry Bank Mill

December 29, 2024July 13, 2017 by Neil Turner

Christine was working this weekend, and so, to keep our toddler entertained, we went to Quarry Bank, near Manchester Airport.

It’s a National Trust property, and is home to Quarry Bank Mill, a large, red-brick mill. Whilst it is still signposted as ‘Quarry Bank Mill’, the National Trust are spending a lot of money on other parts of the site as well. The mill is still the main draw – it’s big, and still has a lot of existing machinery inside. You enter at the top, and start with wooden looms and spinning wheels, before heading down to the mechanised machinery that were used in later years.

Quarry Bank Mill is also home to a very, very big water wheel. It’s still operational, but has been replaced by steam engines and electric power. Enthusiastic volunteers demonstrated the machines and explained how they work, making it feel more interactive than some industrial museums that I’ve previously visited (Leeds, Calderdale and Bradford).

A special exhibition at the top of the mill is based on Sir Tony Robinson’s book The Worst Children’s Jobs in History (sponsored link). Kids can practice shovelling (fake) horse poo, picking vegetables, sweeping chimneys and looking after babies (dolls). Our toddler loved this, and threw a bit of a tantrum when I had to extract the doll from them to move on. It’s on until the 10th September.

Gardens

Last year, the gardens at Quarry Bank were renovated and this was completed earlier this year. They’re home to some nice decorative planting, a kitchen garden and a newly-renovated glass house. You can even buy some of the produce for a donation. A new visitor centre will open later this year, improving access to the gardens.

Next year will see Quarry Bank House opened to the public for the first time, along with some mill workers houses.

We didn’t go to the Apprentice House, which is a separate guided tour. I didn’t think our toddler would enjoy it, but maybe we can go again when they’re older.

Getting to Quarry Bank

Quarry Bank is near the village of Styal and is just to the south of Manchester Airport, so it’s relatively easy to get to. It took me about an hour to drive there from Sowerby Bridge, in light traffic.

As with all National Trust properties, members get in free. I’m a member, and under 5s get in free, so it didn’t cost anything for either of us to visit, but Christine isn’t. Had she come with us, it would’ve cost her £20. That being said, there’s a lot to see and do and it’s a full day out; I got there at 10:30 and left about 3pm, and didn’t do the Apprentice House. National Trust members will find it especially good value for money.

My photos from Sunday are on Flickr, as usual.

V&A Museum of Childhood

March 9, 2024July 2, 2017 by Neil Turner

Not all of London’s museums are in the centre of the city. The East London suburb of Bethnal Green is home to the V&A Museum of Childhood, home to a wide range of toys from several decades.

Now that our 18-month-old is an easily-bored toddler, we felt that we needed to go to a museum that would keep them interested. Thankfully, a museum filled with toys fits the bill, especially during school holidays. It’s technically part of the Victoria and Albert Museum, but doesn’t focus on art and sculpture like its larger Kensington sister museum.

A lot of the toys are enclosed in big glass cabinets, but there are some interactive exhibits. The most popular of which was simply a big pile of differently sized cardboard boxes, perpetuating the oxymoron that children are sometimes more interested in the box than the toy inside. Upstairs there was a sandpit, and we arrived just in time for an interactive story-telling session.

Our 18-month-old also enjoyed the sensory exhibit, with bubble tubes and multi-coloured lights. Christine and I appreciated the range of toys, which included the very old and the quite new. At the back is a large display of dolls houses, lit up as if in a large night-time scene.

We didn’t have the time to see everything as we had to go to meet a friend in the afternoon, so we only had a fleeting glance at the upstairs exhibits (sandpit aside). There’s quite a good café in the central atrium of the museum, which seemed quite busy even before lunchtime.

Entry to the museum is free, and it’s just up the road from Bethnal Green tube station on the Central Line. The museum itself is fully accessible but the nearby tube station doesn’t have step free access. We brought Lizzie in her sling as we knew we’d struggle with a pushchair.

Going back to Eureka as an adult

January 20, 2024April 27, 2017 by Neil Turner

When I was a kid, I used to love going to Eureka, the national children’s museum in Halifax. I was eight years old when it opened in 1992, and so I was in the right age group to visit. I remember going with primary school at least once, and with my parents on other occasions.

Eureka turns 25 this year, and I took Lizzie along a few weeks ago. She’s been three times now – once with me, and twice with her mum. I took her because Christine was working that weekend, and we had a Tesco Clubcard Days Out voucher that was about to expire.

There are still quite a few bits of the museum there that I remember. I remember pedalling on a fixed bike, and seeing a skeleton appear doing the same motions. That’s still there, although the rest of the gallery around it is new. The SoundSpace gallery is new; Lizzie found this really stimulating with lots of sound and light. We also spent a little bit of time in Living and Working Together, and All About Me, but having arrived there after lunch on a Saturday there was only limited time.

When Eureka opened, it was almost unique in the level of interactivity offered. So many museums at the time locked their exhibits behind glass cases, and there would only be the occasional button to press. Eureka was different – you could play with just about everything. It was all about learning through play – a concept that it now applies to its nursery, which is consistently rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. Nowadays, many more museums have exhibits which are accessible to kids, but Eureka was pioneering in this respect.

Eureka entry prices

Although it’s a national museum, Eureka doesn’t receive any central government funding, hence the need to charge an entrance fee. Our local MP, Holly Lynch, has been campaigning to change this. Making it free would be fantastic for Halifax, as it could bring in many more visitors to the town. Work is already ongoing to better link the town centre and the Piece Hall with Eureka and the railway station.

As it stands, for a family of two adults and two children aged 3 or over, a day out at Eureka is almost £52. Whilst the tickets are then valid for unlimited repeat visits within the subsequent 12 months, it’s still a big initial outlay. And that doesn’t include food at the café, parking or travel. It would be great if the museum could become more accessible to those on lower incomes.

Eureka is still a fantastic museum for kids. Quite a lot has changed in 25 years and I’m pleased to see how it’s developed. But it was also nice to go back and see things that I remembered when I was younger. And now that we live nearby, we’ll be getting the most out of our annual passes.