Tag: museums

Swanage – a cute little town I really want to explore properly

I really need to spend more time in Swanage. Here’s my to-do list for next time I visit.

I didn’t realise that there were so many things to do in Swanage.

After a fabulous day exploring Studland Bay from Sandbanks to Old Harry Rocks, we drove round the next bay to the small coastal town of Swanage for the last hour or so of the day before everything closed for Easter.

As the shops were all closing in the next hour, we hit those first. I found an independent bookshop – always the sign of a good town – with a decent local books section. I ended up buying a couple on the local area.

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Exploring the World’s Biggest Tank Museum

Visit the world’s largest collection of tanks at the Tank Museum in Dorset.

There are over 300 tanks at the Tank Museum in Dorset making it not just the largest museum dedicated to tanks, but the largest collection of tanks in the world.

So you know even before you visit, that you’re going to see an awful lot of tanks. I’d been warned to allow a whole day. Fortunately they have a very nice cafe so it was easy to take a couple of breaks. I even got to try to my first piece of Dorset Apple Cake in the cafe here.

Looking towards the entrance of the Tank Museum in Dorset Exploring the World's Biggest Tank Museum www.invertedsheep.com
The Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset
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An Afternoon at the Russell-Cotes Museum

OMG!!! is what I have to say about Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes Museum. And I’m not a person who says OMG.

Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes Museum was such a lovely surprise. I’d put it on my list of things to do whilst I was in Bournemouth just because it was a thing to do. I didn’t know what to expect from it, but fortunately that has never stopped me wanting to explore somewhere new. I knew it was a museum and I knew it was in an old house, both things I like, so I was expecting to enjoy it. What I wasn’t expecting was to be so completely wowed by it.

An Afternoon at the Russell-Cotes Museum. www.invertedsheep.com. Image of large turreted house. The house is cream coloured and has lots of bay windows and balconies. It is seen across a lush garden.
This is the entrance way – what a fabulous first-view it is!

I walked round with eyes wide, jaw on the floor, and finger clicking away on my phone taking a zillion pictures. None of which really do it justice because it’s one of those places you have to see with your own eyes to believe.

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Exploring the National Museum of Scotland

From Bonnie Prince Charlie’s cutlery to Dolly the sheep and from Lewis Chessmen to the St Ninian’s hoard, here are 9 reasons why exploring the National Museum of Scotland should be part of your Scotland itinerary.

The National Museum of Scotland might not be high on your list of must-sees when you visit Edinburgh, but you really should try to find the time to squeeze a visit in.

Here are 9 reasons why you should explore the National Museum of Scotland.

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A Day in Walthamstow

What do William Morris, Europe’s longest street market, an ancient house and 26,000 burials have in common? They’re all found in Walthamstow.

London is far more than just the West End. If you’re visiting and you have more than a couple of days, or if it’s not your first visit and so you’ve already been to Madame Tussaud’s and the Tower of London, then it’s well worth exploring a bit further than the usual Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Covent  Garden circuit.

Hop on a tube or bus and get out into the surrounding towns and suburbs. They are all so different and have their own characters and sub-cultures, and as there’re always plenty of interesting things to do and places to eat, not only will you have a great day, but you can go home and say you’ve seen a bit of the ‘real London’ too. Continue reading “A Day in Walthamstow”

A Rainy Saturday in Wolverhampton

I hadn’t planned on spending a rainy Saturday in Wolverhampton, but as I did I may as well tell you about it. Then you don’t have to. Unless you really want to of course.

I hadn’t planned on spending a rainy Saturday in Wolverhampton.

I hadn’t actually planned on visiting Wolverhampton at all.

I probably would have got there at some point as part of my unofficial mission to visit all the random cities of the UK that no-one really goes to, but it hadn’t been my intention to go there this weekend. Continue reading “A Rainy Saturday in Wolverhampton”

Is Craven Arms Shropshire’s Best Kept Secret?

A sign about mammoths lured me into this little town I’d never heard of.

Why have I never heard of this town before?

I had no intention of going there (obviously, as I’d never heard of it), but ended up spending two nights. Continue reading “Is Craven Arms Shropshire’s Best Kept Secret?”

People’s History Museum, Manchester

The People’s History Museum documents the history of ordinary working people with posters, banners and artifacts.

I’ve been to this museum a few times before, sometimes for talks and sometimes to just look around it. I always manage to learn something new.

This time I was looking around with a friend’s daughter who is currently studying in Manchester. As she was originally from Manchester, but moved away as a child, this was a good place to re-introduce her to her roots. Continue reading “People’s History Museum, Manchester”

Fusilier Museum, Bury

You don’t have to be a military history buff to be fascinated by the many stories told in this museum.

I’m not particularly into military history which was a bit of a problem when I was given a unit of local history to teach. The unit  included lessons on the Lancashire Fusiliers which I was expected to plan myself. Fortunately Bury is home to the Lancashire Fusilier Museum so I took myself along one Saturday to do a bit of research and recce it for a potential class trip. Continue reading “Fusilier Museum, Bury”

Freud Museum

A visit to the final home of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

Sigmund Freud, Austrian Jew and renowned psychoanalyst, fled the Nazis and arrived in London in 1938. Until his death the following the year he lived in a large house in North London, just off Finchley Road and not far from Finchley Road underground station. Continue reading “Freud Museum”