1) Hertsmonceux Castle
2) Hastings - https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/2021/08/hastings.html
3) Groombridge Place - https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/2017/05/groombridge-place.html
4) Brighton - https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/2020/11/brighton.html
5) Chichester - https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/2022/06/chichester.html
6) Arundel - https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4124083420943040106/4989573413229005469
An open air museum is a distinct type of museum that exhibits its collections outside. There's so much to explore and see and in some museums, people are dressed and act like they have lived in whatever time period the museum is covering. It is a great way to learn about how people lived in different eras. Here are some that we've been to:
Chiltern Open Air Museum, Chalfont and Latimer - a good museum which we only visit when there are events as they do events really well with lots of activities.
Blists Hill Victorian Town, Telford- This is our most favourite living museum as we were pretending to be living in the Victorian times handling real-life money! More info here: https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/search?q=birmingham
Black Country Living Museum, Dudley - Another great living museum just outside Birmingham. The highlight was going around the museum in heritage vehicles and pretending to be a Peaky Blinder. More of our day can be found here: https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/2022/06/tiptondudley.html
Download and Weald Living Museum, Chichester - This is another living museum but wasn't as interactive as the others. There's a lot to explore in terms of different cottages and houses over the year and children's activities during school holidays.
Crich Tramway Village, Matlock - In a tiny village in Derbyshire, lies a village full of trams! Great for anyone who loves trams. You get to ride different trams from different time periods. There's also a tiny museum, walking trails and an adventure playground!
Celtic Harmony, Bourne Wood - This was a a prehistoric open air village which takes you back to the basics. You get to experience how humans used to lived in prehistoric times and learn some essential skills. Please check their website as it's not always open to public.
Who knew that this town just outside Birmingham, will offer so much for families!
We first headed to the Dudley Canal Tours and Caverns. It had timed tours which cannot be pre-booked and I didn't want to take the risk of it getting booked up. While waiting for our tour to start, there was a little museum which was very information about the canal history around the area. For a little museum, it had plenty to offer for kids too. When our canal boat arrived, we donned hard hats and got ready for the tours. Our boatman was great! He was so funny and gave us great tidbits about the canal history. He took us through 2 tunnels before we came to the caverns. The boat has light so you won't be in the dark. We came across limestone mines and mine shafts. We also stopped in the way a few times to watch the history of the mine and listen to a mini music concert. Yes, you read that right! A music concert which was grand in the environment we were in. 2 people will also be able to try an old job of moving the boat along the tunnels using your legs! So be ready! The tour took 45mins overall.
Then we headed to the Black Country Living Museum which was literally right next to the canal tours. The museum is great for big and small. It is also where most of Peaky Blinders was filmed. When we went there, the Jubilee celebrations were on so there were parades with Queen Victoria and parades. As we are in the Black Country, it was quite industrialised and some of these machinery are still working which was fascinating. There are also historic characters walking around. The reconstructed shops are so good and you can also buy from some them like the confectionery, bakery, chip shop. You can also take a tour of the museum by hopping on an heritage vehicle which is free. We also took a lesson in an old classroom equipped with blackboard and a teacher with a stick. Beware naughty children! There's also demonstrations of a few skills such as chain-making. Do check the timetable at the entrance. There's also a park for kids to let loose.
Overall, it was a great family day out which didn't break the bank!
Over the half-term, we didn't want to go too far to get some history in us. So after a bit of research, we thought we'll pop into Chichester. It is a very family-friendly city and with lots of Roman history. We got lucky as the day we picked was during the Roman Week where they had celebrations going. Do visit https://www.thenovium.org/romanweek to find out more about events.
On our way to the first stop, we walked through the historic town and the beautiful Chichester Cathedral. We didn't go inside the Cathedral but it's a majestic building. We headed to the Novium Museum which is free to visit. Thy had a Lego exhibition happening which had an extra fee. The exhibition was small but had Lego constructions of famous buildings around the world including a life-size model of the coral reef! They also had a Lego play area where we spent some time building. We then visited the rest of the museum. The museum was over 2 floors with lots to explore and do for kids. The second view has some artefacts with lovely views of the cathedral. The first floor had the history of Chichester with roman games and a book corner. The ground floor has remnants of ruins and mosaics. There were activities such as object handling and reproducing a statues head. The museum has a cute little gift shop too.
If you have time, you can also visit bigger roman ruins at Fishbourne Roman Palace. We didn't have time as we were heading to the Weald and Download Living Museum. A living museum is an open air museum that recreates the past with reconstruction of old houses/building with demonstrations and people walking around in historic attire. This museum is set in such a cute little village too with funny names for pubs and roads. You can spend a nice day out there with lovely spots for picnics but they also have a nice cafe. The museum shows us how people lived over the year with no specific period. We entered and explored everything the museum had to offer. It has some lovely cottages. Unfortunately, it did't have as many demonstrations as other living museum we visited. We saw a weaving demonstration with flax seeds. There were kids activities dotted around the place which kept the kids busy. There is a woodland walk which takes you around the museum if everyone has the energy. There's also a nice lake with a working watermill. There's also live animals such as chickens, ducks, cockerel walking around so take them into consideration. Overall a nice afternoon spent at the museum but not what we were expecting in comparison to what we experienced in other living museum.
Close to the living museum is the West Dean Gardens, a botanical garden. If you are making a weekend in Chichester then this could be worth a visit too. The kids were tired and this mummy was tired too after another day of successful exploration.
I've been living in this country for over 20years and Cornwall is a place that I booked so many times and always had to cancel it due to circumstances. So when I was actually on the train to Cornwall, I couldn't believe that it was actually happening!
I couldn't fit in the whole of Cornwall due to money so I thought I'll split my trip over north and south Cornwall. This year, we did North Cornwall which could we easily fit during the May half -term but also had one of the most beautiful waterfalls I wanted to visit (if you read my blog enough, you'll know how we love waterfalls). So off we stayed in Bodmin for 3 days to allow us easy travel across the different towns that was on my list. A warning, you must have excellent driving skills to rive around Cornwall! The roads are so narrow for 2 way-traffic so don't tell me I didn't warn you!
We explored the little town that is Bodmin. It's nice with quite a lot to do. You can easily spend 2 days in Bodmin. We went to Bodmin Jail which was a great attraction and went beyond my expectations! There's also the Army Museum, Bodmin Steam railway, exploring Bodmin Moors and a nice walk to Lanhydrock estate. We didn't do any of that as the kids didn't want to do any of them.
Another obsession of ours are caves. So off we went to Liskeard to visit the Carnglaze Caverns which is on the border of the Bodmin Moors but more importantly, the lovely Golitha Falls (it is not a waterfalls but the river flowing through woodland). Cornwall was big in slate mining and so these caverns were one the slate mines. There is an entrance fee and they are very strict on timing so be there on time. The caves don't take that long but it is not pushchair or wheelchair friendly. The highlights are the pools! I wish were were allowed to swim because the water was so clear! The caves had lots of information as to what exactly happened so great for everyone. We then took a walk around the woodland and gardens surrounding the caves which was lush with greenery! It only took 30mins to walk around. The caves also hold events and has a small gift shop with ample parking.
We spent a whole day in Tintagel. Now, Tintagel is a cute village with stunning views of the beautiful coasts. When we first entered Tintagel, a sweet caramel smell took us to a candy shop where you can see candy being made! A small shop but so many sweets and fudges! There are some old historic buildings such as the Old Post Office and King Arthur Halls. We didn't visit them as we weren't interested so we headed straight to Tintagel Castle! What remains are the walls but it is still so beautiful especially with the coast views! We spent the whole morning walking around and saying "Wow". Unfortunately, the beach and Merlin's cave was closed due to storm damage so couldn't visit it. We then headed off to St Nectan's Glen Waterfall in Rocky Valley and decided it to hike it there. The map shows 45mins but it was more than 1 hour. I would highly recommend the hike if you can. When I asked the kids what their favourite part of the holiday was once we came back, they both said the hike. Yes, there was a bit of complaining but it was well worth it. Do invest in some good walking boots as some paths are tricky. We walked along the coasts and the views, oh the views, I can't describe them. We were blessed with great weather and so no filters were not needed on any of our photos! When we finally reached St Nectan's Glen, in the middle of what I would call a jungle, it was stunning. You have to pay a little entrance fee but it is well worth it. The water is freezing so beware. The place is used for spiritual retreats so you will see related stuff around the waterfall. Once you get in, you can spend as much time as possible. We were lucky that it wasn't busy. Once you are done, they are woodland walks you can do too. It was a great day! Around the area, there's
On another day, we went to visit Padstow, a cute little fishing village. We visited the National Lobster Hatchery where we learned about the lobster life cycle and how the hatchery cared for lobsters from their maternity unit to release of in the wildlife. It is small but very interactive for kids! We then walked around the beach and looking for shells, minerals and exploring caves.
This was our family's expedition to North Cornwall and it didn't disappoint us. It was as people describe Cornwall to be! I can't wait to explore the rest of Cornwall!
