10 of the best
Quality museums you can now visit
England is awash with marvellous museums of all kinds, allowed to open their doors once again from Super Saturday July 4.
While not all may fully reopen immediately, here’s a reminder of treasures that await ...
1 NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM Leeman Road, York
Home to iconic locomotives and an unrivalled collection of engineering brilliance, the museum celebrates the past, present and future of innovation on the railways. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant railway vehicles such as Mallard, Stirling Single, Duchess of Hamilton and a Japanese bullet train. But it’s more than a repository of magnificent locomotives, impressive as they are. It tells remarkable stories as it charts how Britain’s railways have changed how we all live. The trains may be still but the museum is a high-speed journey through time. Details: railwaymuseum.org.uk
2 ROMAN BATHS Bath
The Roman Baths is regarded as one of the finest historic sites in Northern Europe. Situated at the heart of the City of Bath World Heritage Site, it consists of the remarkably preserved remains of one of the greatest religious spas of the ancient world. The city’s unique thermal springs rise in the site and the Baths still flow with natural hot water. Visitors can explore the Roman Baths, walk on the original Roman pavements and see the ruins of the Temple of Sulis Minerva. The museum collection, located next to the bathing complex, includes a gilt bronze head of the Goddess Sulis Minerva, and other Roman artefacts. Details: romanbaths.co.uk
3 CHURCHILL WAR ROOMS King Charles Street, London
Discover the stories hidden beneath the streets of Westminster in the underground nerve centre where Winston Churchill and his inner circle directed the Second World War. Walk the labyrinth of rooms and corridors that stretch below Westminster that sheltered Winston Churchill and his war cabinet from the German bombing raids, and explore the Churchill museum to learn the story of his life and legacy. Details: iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-warrooms
4 BRITISH MUSEUM Bloomsbury, London
Discover two million years of human history and culture. The museum holds some of the world’s greatest treasures, including the Parthenon Marbles and the Rosetta Stone. Its permanent collection of some eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence, having been widely sourced during the era of the British Empire. It documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present, and was the first public national museum in the world. Details: britishmuseum.org
5 NATIONAL COAL MINING MUSEUM FOR ENGLAND Caphouse Colliery, New Road, Overton, Wakefield
The National Coal Mining Museum for England provides a unique day out filled with grit and charm. Pop on a hard hat, a lamp and go an adventure 140 m underground into England’s last deep coalmine. Chat to charismatic former miners as they tell the tales of their mining careers and the men, women, children, animals and equipment
that worked the coal mines for centuries before them. Hear how mining lingo, hardships and dangers shape how we live our lives today. Explore 14 galleries and buildings to understand the lives of miners at work, at home and their tools. Let off steam in the adventure playground. Meet the pit ponies and find out from their keepers what jobs they would have done and what makes them so special. Strike up a conversation with the blacksmiths restoring metalwork and creating new works of art. And if there is any time left in the day then explore acres of woodland spotting plants and wildlife and see how bright orange mine water is cleaned. Details: ncm.org.uk
6 VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM Knightsbridge, London
The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The museum holds many of the UK’s national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance. Details: vam.ac.uk
7 NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM South Kensington, London
Uncover the history of life on Earth, from the smallest insects to the largest mammals. Find answers to your big nature questions and delve into stories about the museum’s collections, scientists and research and take in a remarkable array of specimens of creatures from around the world and throughout history. Details: nhm.ac.uk
8 COVENTRY MUSIC MUSEUM Walsgrave Road, Coventry
Coventry is due to be the UK’s City of Culture in 2021 and this museum gives a good indication as to why. Its unique selling point may be 2-Tone - the genreblending movement of which The Specials, The Beat and The Selecter were the prime examples - but most of the museum looks at other music from Coventry and the surrounding area. Its areas include ‘Pre Pop’ (beginning the story at AD60 and the Roman Occupation), a reproduction record shop listening booth that tells the story of ‘The Coventry Sound’ and manager Larry Page’s attempt to create an identifiable sound for the city to rival Mersey Beat by using a roster of artists that included three 14 yearold schoolgirls, and a band that dressed as Dickens’s Mr Pickwick. It’s a small museum but with plenty of charm. Details: covmm.co.uk
9 SCIENCE MUSEUM South Kensington, London
The Science Museum’s world class collection forms a record of scientific, technological and medical advancement from across the globe. It aims to inspire visitors with award-winning exhibitions, iconic objects and stories of incredible scientific achievement. Details: sciencemuseum.org.uk
10 MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD High Street, Edinburgh
A little gem of a museum, housing toys, games, clothes, books and dolls, dating from the 1800s to the present day. Find fascinating and rare objects with some nostalgic delights too. Details: edinburghmuseums.org.uk