SIX VICTORIAN SITES TO VISIT

1. Quarry Bank Mill Cheshire

Early factories needed water power, so were often built beside fast-flowing rivers. Quarry Bank, now restored by the National Trust, operated as a cotton mill on the river Bollin from 1784 to the mid-20 century. £11.70. Open daily. Styal, SK9 4HP. 01625 527468, nationaltrust.org.uk/ quarry-bank

3. The Verdant Works Dundee

Dedicated to Dundee’s jute textile industry, which in the Victorian period employed half the town’s population (the majority women), this museum sheds a light on the technology and mill workers’ lives. £11.25. Open daily to October. West Henderson’s Wynd, DD1 5BT. 01382 309060, verdantworks.com

5. Cragside Northumberland

The home of the wealthy industrialist and inventor William Armstrong, this country house was both his rural retreat and a showcase for radical Victorian engineering, including hydroelectric lighting. £18. Open daily. Near Rothbury, NE65 7PX. 01669 620333, nationaltrust.org.uk/ cragside

2. Ironbridge Gorge Shropshire

Ironbridge Gorge is the site of no fewer than 10 museums featuring Victorian social and economic life, including Blists Hill, which recreates life in a Victorian town, with shops, cottages and streets laid out on an authentic plan. £26.50. Open daily to 30 September. Near Telford, TF7 5UD. 01952 433424, ironbridge.org.uk

4. Down House Kent

The house where Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution has been recreated as it was when he lived there, as have the gardens and greenhouse, providing a fascinating insight into the life of a Victorian intellectual. £12. Open daily to 30 September. Luxted Road, Downe, BR6 7JT. 01689 859119, english-heritage.org.uk

6. Big Pit Coal Museum Torfaen

Descend a mine shaft to discover the deep-seam coal-mining engineering feats of the period. Big Pit was a working coal mine from 1880-1980 and is now part of a World Heritage Site including a heritage steam railway. Free. Open daily. Blaenavon, NP4 9XP. 0300 111 2333, museum.wales/bigpit/