Tenement Museum in New York is brilliant. It's a walking tour round a dilapidated building that housed Irish immigrants coming to America for the first time. Really well done and different to any other museum I have ever been to before.
Favourite Museum in London is the Robert Opie Museum or the Museum of Brands and Packaging. Displays the change in different branded products over time. Such as a Mars Bar for example.
National Maritime Museum has always been a favourite of mine, I may be biased as I worked there for a long time, Natural History Museum is superb, further afield I have visited Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Cambodia and the Killing Fields, found the Killing Fields very disturbing, had a headset on as we went round after about an hour I had to turn it off, horrific, a hugely emotional place especially when it occurred in my lifetime.
Best Museum - Manchester Science Museum Best Art Gallery - Either Tate Modern or National Gallery depending on my mood Best Mixed Collections - Fitzwilliam and Ashmolean Museums Best Corporate Museum - The Wellcome Collection - Their current 'Being Human' exhibition is very good Best of the Biggies - Can't decide between NHM, Science Museum and British Museum. All cracking, but never go in during the school holidays Best museum in an otherwise dull town - The Harris Gallery, Preston The 'Don't Bang Your Head Award' for Smallest Museum - The Dutch Cottage, Canvey Island The 'Why is every exhibit the bloody same' award - National Coach Museum, Lisbon. I visited in 1969, and am only just getting over it Best specially constructed exhibit in a museum - WW1 trenches at Bovington Tank Museum Best Overseas Museum - well, perhaps not the best but the one I enjoyed it the most: Luxemburg Museum of Art & History Strangest contrast between an exhibition and its related shop - The Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas. The exhibits were all fibreglass models, but in the shop you could buy genuine Egyptian mummies! The one that got away - V&A - not sure why, but I've never been
The Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford which has a weird collection of stuff The Coventry Transport Museum (sadly no longer free) Duxford
Imperial War Museum North (in Salford) which is much more about the human experience of war, and the nearby Lowry gallery if you like his paintings Manchester Science and Industry Museum (though a major section is shut at the moment)
National Railway Museum in York obviously
Just off the A303 the Haynes Motor Museum (for car lovers) and Fleet Air Arm Museum (navy aircraft)
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard - so many ships and exhibits to see
Planning to visit the British Motor Museum in Gaydon on the way back from Wigan
This was really good, the Sunday spent at the museum was a lot more enjoyable than the afternoon spent at the Wigan match!
The old Rotunda Museum up at Woolwich Barracks. I'd be up there all the time with me dad or mates as a kid. Apparently it all got taken due to Firepower and the Arsenal, but got knows where it all is now that's closed. Is there a similar place in Birmingham???
The old Rotunda Museum up at Woolwich Barracks. I'd be up there all the time with me dad or mates as a kid. Apparently it all got taken due to Firepower and the Arsenal, but got knows where it all is now that's closed. Is there a similar place in Birmingham???
They have a storage facility out in the West Country from memory so I think the SPG’s and everything else was moved down there..
I know there's a few plane enthusiasts in CL I didn't know where to post this, but a special event in the free museum comes highly recommended. Chats with aircrew from the Vulcans and able to sit in the cockpits of cold war planes. £50 RAF Museum
I live about an hour from York and we’ve been there twice in the last year as my almost three year old is obsessed with trains (proper Charlton). Must admit, I quite enjoy it too. Lovely city too.
IWM was always a favourite of mine when I was at Southbank. Design Museum used to be worth a visit (not free).
I wouldn't say it was worth a special trip, it's too compact for that but the Bank of England Museum is good. And free. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum
The current main exhibit is on the BoE and slavery.
There used to be the opportunity to lift a gold bar - 12.4 kg - but not sure if they still do that. (If nothing else, it used to give you an idea of quite how implausible some movies are. Yes The Italian Job, both versions, I'm looking at you! And gold bars are invariably shown upside down in movies.)
My new absolute favourite is the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum in Hawkinge. It’s the largest museum dedicated to the Battle of Britain in the world without doubt the most complete collection of histories of all the pilots who took part.
Well worth a visit on the old airfield and hopefully next year, they’ll purchase an extra parcel of land (more of the old airfield) to extend even more.
I wouldn't say it was worth a special trip, it's too compact for that but the Bank of England Museum is good. And free. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum
The current main exhibit is on the BoE and slavery.
There used to be the opportunity to lift a gold bar - 12.4 kg - but not sure if they still do that. (If nothing else, it used to give you an idea of quite how implausible some movies are. Yes The Italian Job, both versions, I'm looking at you! And gold bars are invariably shown upside down in movies.)
I always wondered why Scrooge McDuck didn't get hurt diving into a massive pile of gold.
Over the river from my brother's gaff in Ballycasey is a great museum I have visited twice, and it covers a short and specialist time in aviation history. Pre WW2 and pre radar and pre pressurised cabins there used to be transatlantic passenger flights to and from America to points very west in Europe. Namely France and Ireland. They were essentially flying boats. In Foynes hard by the runway that was the river Shannon, you have this excellent specialised museum that is well worth visiting if you're in the area.
My new absolute favourite is the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum in Hawkinge. It’s the largest museum dedicated to the Battle of Britain in the world without doubt the most complete collection of histories of all the pilots who took part.
Well worth a visit on the old airfield and hopefully next year, they’ll purchase an extra parcel of land (more of the old airfield) to extend even more.
Do they still stop you taking photos in there? Wasn’t the most visitor friendly place when I went.
My new absolute favourite is the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum in Hawkinge. It’s the largest museum dedicated to the Battle of Britain in the world without doubt the most complete collection of histories of all the pilots who took part.
Well worth a visit on the old airfield and hopefully next year, they’ll purchase an extra parcel of land (more of the old airfield) to extend even more.
Do they still stop you taking photos in there? Wasn’t the most visitor friendly place when I went.
Unfortunately they still don’t allow photos and you have to leave your phone either in your car or at the front desk. They have lots of volunteers wandering around to help answering questions and a very nice cafe too
My new absolute favourite is the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum in Hawkinge. It’s the largest museum dedicated to the Battle of Britain in the world without doubt the most complete collection of histories of all the pilots who took part.
Well worth a visit on the old airfield and hopefully next year, they’ll purchase an extra parcel of land (more of the old airfield) to extend even more.
Do they still stop you taking photos in there? Wasn’t the most visitor friendly place when I went.
Unfortunately they still don’t allow photos and you have to leave your phone either in your car or at the front desk. They have lots of volunteers wandering around to help answering questions and a very nice cafe too
My new absolute favourite is the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum in Hawkinge. It’s the largest museum dedicated to the Battle of Britain in the world without doubt the most complete collection of histories of all the pilots who took part.
Well worth a visit on the old airfield and hopefully next year, they’ll purchase an extra parcel of land (more of the old airfield) to extend even more.
Do they still stop you taking photos in there? Wasn’t the most visitor friendly place when I went.
Unfortunately they still don’t allow photos and you have to leave your phone either in your car or at the front desk. They have lots of volunteers wandering around to help answering questions and a very nice cafe too
WTF... Why the hell not?
They cite security reasons but it’s quite frankly ridiculous.
Comments
Favourite Museum in London is the Robert Opie Museum or the Museum of Brands and Packaging. Displays the change in different branded products over time. Such as a Mars Bar for example.
Best Art Gallery - Either Tate Modern or National Gallery depending on my mood
Best Mixed Collections - Fitzwilliam and Ashmolean Museums
Best Corporate Museum - The Wellcome Collection - Their current 'Being Human' exhibition is very good
Best of the Biggies - Can't decide between NHM, Science Museum and British Museum. All cracking, but never go in during the school holidays
Best museum in an otherwise dull town - The Harris Gallery, Preston
The 'Don't Bang Your Head Award' for Smallest Museum - The Dutch Cottage, Canvey Island
The 'Why is every exhibit the bloody same' award - National Coach Museum, Lisbon. I visited in 1969, and am only just getting over it
Best specially constructed exhibit in a museum - WW1 trenches at Bovington Tank Museum
Best Overseas Museum - well, perhaps not the best but the one I enjoyed it the most: Luxemburg Museum of Art & History
Strangest contrast between an exhibition and its related shop - The Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas. The exhibits were all fibreglass models, but in the shop you could buy genuine Egyptian mummies!
The one that got away - V&A - not sure why, but I've never been
Visitors welcome, but by appointment only.
I didn't know where to post this, but a special event in the free museum comes highly recommended.
Chats with aircrew from the Vulcans and able to sit in the cockpits of cold war planes.
£50
RAF Museum
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/whats-going-on/events/the-vulcan-and-cold-war-experience/
IWM was always a favourite of mine when I was at Southbank. Design Museum used to be worth a visit (not free).
Manchester Science .. from very early ingenious cotton spinning machines to the very recent development of Graphene
Sunderland Glass .. all you need to know about the material that is all around us, from windows to beer mugs
Also, when in the Smoke, I always visit the V&A and Science, cheap day out
The current main exhibit is on the BoE and slavery.
There used to be the opportunity to lift a gold bar - 12.4 kg - but not sure if they still do that. (If nothing else, it used to give you an idea of quite how implausible some movies are. Yes The Italian Job, both versions, I'm looking at you! And gold bars are invariably shown upside down in movies.)
I remember loving the Museum of Moving Images when I was a kid as well before it closed.
Pre WW2 and pre radar and pre pressurised cabins there used to be transatlantic passenger flights to and from America to points very west in Europe. Namely France and Ireland.
They were essentially flying boats.
In Foynes hard by the runway that was the river Shannon, you have this excellent specialised museum that is well worth visiting if you're in the area.
https://www.flyingboatmuseum.com/