The Tudor House and Garden is a museum in the old part of Southampton…read more Built around 1492, the building was a grand house for most of its life until it became a museum in 1912. It has elements from every century since the 15th, as it has been much remodelled over the years. There's a good audio guided tour, which brings it to life. The exhibits are rather eclectic but the house itself includes lovely touches such as Tudor graffiti and floorboards made from 18th Century ship timbers. At the rear is a charming garden, which has been restored to its original Tudor form. Behind that, built into the town's mediaeval walls, is the so-called King John's Palace. Actually a town house belonging to a wealthy merchant built around 1180, it is a very rare example of Norman domestic architecture. The museum has a small shop and a nice modern cafe in the garden - this can be visited without paying for the museum tour. Staff were notably very friendly throughout our visit.

A fun time at the Tudor House and Garden. It has a lot of history here and you get to learn about…read moreit through the videos and the writings all around. They give you a map showing all the rooms and places to visit during your adventure. Overall I thought this was pretty cool and I do believe kids and adults will enjoy it! Don't forget the garden it is beautiful.

The Canal centre is the HQ of the restored Basingstoke Canal, which runs for 32 miles from Greywell…read moreVillage in Hampshire to Woodham in Surrey, where it joins the Wey Navigation, which links it to the River Thames. As well as a display about the history of the canal, there's a small shop selling maps, basic toiletries and snacks for those on the adjacent campsite, games for children and souvenirs. The site has a small, popular cafe and a car park, and the centre has toilets. It's the starting point for walks along the canal towpath and those kayaking and canoeing along the canal. There's a small campsite adjacent. The canal itself was completed in 1794, running from the Wey Navigation to a basin in Basingstoke. It was never a commercial success, being undermined by competition from the adjacent railway from the 1830s. Commercial use ceased in 1910 and the canal gradually fell into disuse. It was used by nearby army camps during World War One. After the war, the efforts of a local man, AJ Harmsworth, maintained it for pleasure use and he purchased the canal in 1922. On his death in 1947 it was sold. Efforts to maintain the canal continued, but breaches in 1957 and 1968 ensured that it was essentially derelict by the 1960s. The Greywell tunnel, just short of Basingstoke had already partially collapsed in 1932, cutting the canal from its original destination. A campaign to restore the canal resulted in its purchase by Hampshire and Surrey Councils; restoration began in 1977 and it was opened in its current form in 1991. The Greywell tunnel remains closed and now houses a colony of protected bats, making restoration of the section to Basingstoke unlikely. The canal is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its wildlife. Because of this and water supply issues, there is a limit on lock opening times and the number of boats allowed to use it. Short distance pleasure cruises are, however, operated from the canal centre.

The canal centre documents the history of the Basingstoke canal through dioramas, video, photos and…read moreinformation boards. An interactive model shows how a lock works. There's a cafe and small shop, plenty of parking and they cater for children with colouring pens and paper. At Christmas, they offer Santa cruises to take you and the kids to see Santa's secret grotto hidden in the woods a 10 minute ride from the centre. This year it was extremely well organised and Santa was very convincing and highly entertaining telling jokes, singing Christmas songs and talking to the children individually. The circular grotto (shed) was large, well protected from the elements, heated and strewn with hay. The canal centre was decorated too and the 'elf noticeboard' displayed all of the elf's qualifications such as sleigh driving and gift wrapping together with 'elf and safe tea' notices. Well worth the £10 per head including a quality reading book gift from Santa. If you want to book, do so early as tickets sell out very quickly.

The Mid Hants Railway - affectionately known as the "Watercress Line" - is a preserved steam…read morerailway running from Alton to Alresford, near Winchester. It runs through lovely rolling countryside and makes for a great day out for families, with special dining trains, real ale trains, enthusiast days and special family days at Christmas and in the summer. The line was originally opened in 1865, and ran through to Winchester, providing an alternative route to the main line via Basingstoke. The route however was very hilly, as it crosses the North Downs. To railway buffs it was known as the 'Alps' as the line was steeply graded. Even today, Medstead and Four Marks is the highest railway station in the South East, 200m (over 650ft) above sea level. The 'Watercress' tag came from the fact the line runs through an area rich in chalk-land streams, which were perfect for growing Watercress, and this was a major source of business for much of the line's early life. The line was closed beyond Alton in 1973, but was saved by enthusiasts and gradually brought back into service between Alton (the terminus of the mainline service from Waterloo) and the pretty village of Alresford. It has a good selection of steam locomotives, beautifully restored stations, and is staffed largely by friendly volunteers. The HQ of the line is at Ropley, where there is a large depot for preserved steam and diesel locomotives. The line specialises in Southern locomotives but there are British railways standard types there as well. The steep gradients means that trains have to be hauled by relatively large locomotives. Every station has refreshment facilities and a small shop (Alresford has a larger bookshop, also selling model trains and other souvenirs). There are care parks at Alresford and Alton (in the BR station car park - charges apply). The line's website sets out accessibility to wheelchair users.

An amazing place to come with the kids. We came for Thomas the tank day and Their team of…read morevolunteers should be very proud of themselves as everything ran like clock work from beginning to end. It is quite pricey at £36 for two adults if my son was older than 2 it would have been £48! However for what you get like rides on vintage steam trains and lots of fun activities for the children you certainly get good value for the high price. They also have other themed nights such as peppa pig and world war 2. So well worth keeping an eye out for the different events.

Milestones is located just outside the town centre and only a few minutes from Junction 6 of the…read moreM3. It is clearly sign posted and easily found. The museum is housed in a odern purpose built building that is looks deceptively small. It was opened in 2000, and still looks new. It is on two levels, well three but the middle level is just a cloakroom and offices I believe. The top floor (confusingly called Upper Ground) consists of the entrance lobby, toilets, gift shop and restaurant. The gift shop carries a wide range of products with a historical theme. These range from books to sweets and from toys to ornaments. The restaurant serves hot meals and snacks, and is moderatley sized. There are also a few tables in the entrance lobby where picnics can be eaten, as well as a picnic area outside. The main part of the museum is on the Lower Ground and this is accessed either by stairs of lift. The museum is fully accessible to the elderly or disable, and they even have their own electric chairs. However care should be take by those who have mobility problems as the streets are cobbled and in places there are tram tracks. The museum tells the story of how people lived and worked over the past 200 or so years. It is consists of several mock streets and buildings, along with real vehicles and other items. At the start of the museum you are given a personal audio guide and map. This provides commentary on all of the scenes and is a very good idea. It allows people to walk around at their own pace, even children, and deters them from just walking straight past exhibits. They are backed up by numerous films and display boards scattered around the exhibits. The tour starts in a mock up of an Taskers ironworks in Andover in the 18th century. It tells the story of how they made steam engines (not trains, but stationary engines and traction engines). From there the visitor walks out in to the High Street and can visit a saw mill, the station and all kinds of shops that would be found in a typical town at the end of the 19th or begining of the 20th centuries. For example there is a greengrocers, a co-op and even a working pub, where I was reliable informed you could by a pint of ale. Eventually the visitor goes through a time tunnel which takes them in to the 1930's or 40's. Again this is represented by rows of shops and vehicles of that era including a sweet shop where you could buy sweets of a bygone age. There are also two seperate areas for specialist collections and displays which don't fit into the main part of the museum. For example when I visited there was a display of how the home has changed over the decades since the 1920's. The final part of the museum is a mock up of the Thoneycroft factor which was a large employer in the area. This is a living history museum and there were several costumed interpreters walking around, who were more than willing to talki to visitors about the exhibits. Various activities for children are also arranged, such as dressing up in costumes, a victorian school lesson and as mentioned above buying sweets from the sweet shop. To be able to buy the sweets, the children had to have two old pennies and a ration card, just like in Granny's day! These were on sale at the entrance for 60p. The museum state that you need three hours to go round, well it took us three and a half hours, but could easily have taken more. This is a very good museum, well thought out and obviously designed with children in mind. If you plan to go, I can recommend it and would suggest arriving early and plan to spend the whole day there - you won't be disappointed.

I worked at this museum for a few months a while ago, and it's a good place to visit. It's in a…read morelovely modern building and has an excellent range of historical exhibits, all in a recreated street scene from the past. A wonderful idea for a museum, and it's been executed wonderfully staff are friendly, the exhibits are detailed and interesting, and the whole thing provides a fascinating insight into Basingstoke and Hampshire's past. Admission prices are pretty high, admittedly, but I think in this case they are justified for what is an excellent, interesting and very worthwhile place to visit.

We visited Beaulieu as part of my parents' 60th wedding anniversary. What a pleasant surprise. The…read moreNational Motor Museum is great, but there is so much more, be it the vintage bus ride, the monorail, the gardens, the abbey, the secret army exhibition or the house. The restaurant is pretty decent as well. A very enjoyable day for the whole family.

What? Are you serious that no one has reviewed this museum yet?…read more Britain is peppered with small community museums dedicated to one small tiny aspect of some technical or technological achievement that still completely misses the big picture and fails to truly entertain the young. On one such visit, I was directed to the Beaulieu and the National Motor Museum as an example of the best of museumship (tip to francophones out there it is pronounced, "byoo-lee" in case you need to ask directions froma local). I was not disappointed. It is on a very large estate and shares space with one of the many abbeys-come-ruins that have peppered England since the reformation, and a typically beautiful English garden, which we did not partake of on this chilly November day, since the finest of the blushes of summer had long since past. For my part, I've been really enjoying my son's recent rejuvenation since he's been diagnosed with coeliac disease and on a gluten free diet. Our day at the NMM was great fun for him, and evidence of just how well gluten free works for him, as he was running around everywhere, and commenting on virtually every one of the several hundred cars that we saw. "There's a classic Mini." "There's a classic convertable." "That one is a classic Mercedes." Commenting on one of the speed record specimens, "that car goes really really fast." "That's a formula 1 car." And on it went. The ride on the vintage double-decker was a lot of fun, and so was the monorail. If you're at all a fan of Top Gear, you will also like the "World of Top Gear" exhibit which shows some of the more fun inventions of the show like the three limousines, and the pick-up truck that crossed the English channel. It did miss out on the one thing that a museum like this can never have enough of...exhibits you can interact with. There were certainly some, but really, if you have hundreds of classic cars, why not have at least a few that people can climb into and experience for themselves. I would have loved to have sat in one of the several Formula 1 cars, or rally cars, or anything like that for that matter. The one vehicle you got to climb into was an old 1960's doubledecker bus, and even then, you don't even get to go up to the top level. So when all is said and done, the NMM was good, but not great. It's worth the drive if you're not far, but I wouldn't go all the way to Southampton just to visit this museum. And be sure to fill out your gift aid form so that you can go back as much as you want for a year.

This is a part of the Southampton Solent University and is a great little gallery. They usually…read morehave different projects and displays on and it is not nearly as popular as it should be. I took my son there a couple of years ago when they had the daleks from Doctor Who displayed, he thought it was amazing.

Great place where you can find interesting pieces to admire.read more

If you're an admirer of Jane Austen, then this is a visit you'll enjoy. What's unique about this…read moreplace is that Jane Austen once resided here. Calling it a museum might be slightly exaggerated, but referring to it as just a house isn't quite right. You'll learn about Jane's background and relatives while you attempt to picture life during that era.

We were in the area and where looking for something to do and found this. Cost 8.5 per person but…read morethe entry is good for one year. There is a short film that gives you an overview and then you can go into the house. They do have some original items but also have supplemented with items from the period but not original to the house. There is a downstairs and an upstairs. There is a very pleasant garden. We were able to enjoy it as it was a sunny day. There is also a small gift shop and two toilets. They stated they have WiFi but we couldn't get it to work on our phones. A good way to spend a hour.

This is a great museum for all aviation enthusiasts!…read more It is operated by the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST), which exists to safeguard and promote Farnborough's heritage in aviation science. The FAST Museum is adjacent to Farnborough airfield, and holds a collection of aircraft (actual and model), satellites, simulators and other unique material related to Farnborough's world famous Royal Aircraft Establishment. It also offers exclusive guided tours of areas of Farnborough's historic aviation quarter not normally open to the public (including a centrifugal flight machine and a wind tunnel: access to these is currently restricted because of Covid). It includes a replica of the plane in which Samuel Cody made the first powered flight in UK, just yards away from the present museum site, in 1908. Both children and adults can enjoy trying out a flight simulator: for children under eight, there is a simpler simulator: for anyone over eight years old, you can have a go on the Harrier jump jet simulator. It just goes to show that flying an aircraft is much harder than you think! The museum is free, and there is plenty of car parking. There is a small coffee bar on the first floor (no lift). The volunteers are enthusiastic and knowledgeable and very friendly. A great place for a couple of hours.

This is a very good little museum explaining what happens at RAE Farnborough up to the 1970 ish…read more It also has the biggest model collection of RAF aircraft from the first days of flight to present day. And best of all its FREE yes free to visit.