Take no notice of the mini-map - it is wrong. The museum is located on Grand Parade. The address is…read morecorrect. We visited on a drizzly June Sunday in 2010 and were pleasantly surprised. Admission was cheap and it passed an hour or so. The exhibits remind you of a bedroom quickly tidied with the arrival of visitors. There is no logic to the displays, they simply are. Famous names sit next to anonymous teddy bears. Virtually every type of toy is represented. Modern toys and games sit alongside favourites of days gone by. We were able to show our 11 and 8 year olds toys which we had as children. The museum is well worth a visit.

This is a fantastic little volunteer run air museum. Staff extremly helpfull & friendly. We went on…read morea Sunday arfternoon & was pleasantly supprised at the access to the aircraft, especially the Vulcan Bomber. There is a well informed museum, It was a pleasure not to surrounded by hordes of people. Good athentic location next to Carlisle Airport. I didn't realise there was a voucher availible untill writing this review but am more than happy to support volunteers efforts. No cafe but the reception did provide hot & cold drinks, crisps.

Interesting museum showing history of Leyland trucks and commercial vehicles.read more

Excelent museum run by enthusiasts and retired truckers with stories galore. There is a good…read morearchive and many exhibits from the earliest days to modern commercial vehicles. Well worth a visit. Parking is free outside, and there are many cafes, supermkts,shops etc. in Leyland town centre next to it.

Great day out packed full of interesting things to see. I've been coming here since I was a kid,…read moreand always enjoy a visit, learning something new about the local history each time. With free entry, and in town, it's definitely worth including it in your day travels.

Another nice and interesting museum in Newcastle, definitely a city of cultural delights. The…read moreDiscovery Museum mostly focuses on telling the story of the city and of the Northeast in general. It goes through the good times and the bad times in the city, including the coal mining boom, the poverty, the World Wars, the politics, everything is covered. There are real life examples- interviews with real Newcastle people over the years, and plenty of interesting memorabilia as well. It's a very cool place. There are also sections devoted to science and technology, and the discoveries made by people from the area. There is a good café with excellent prices, and a nice little shop too. A big advantage of this museum for families is that the exhibits are quite interactive, and should keep children interested as well. Best of all, it's all free. However, if you can, please do donate to keep important institutions like this one accessible to all.

Interesting museum with a displays about various aspects of the criminal justice system locally…read more Quite expensive for a small museum but worth the money. There is a rather good audio commentary but unfortunately it does not work as intended because there is a very poor mobile signal and the free Wi-Fi does not work in the main exhibition areas, it only works close to reception. Doubtless this is due to the thick walls of the former jail, but if the investment in Wi-Fi that covered the whole place could be made, it would enable visitors to make full use of some good material (which I listened to later when connected elsewhere). Anyway, that aside, it is an interesting place with plenty of exhibits and explanations about the misery of being a prisoner in that building, and memorabilia relating to the police.

This is a great day out regardless of age be you 5 or 105 there should be something to interest…read moreyou. Located on a former wartime Air-base this museum is run by many volunteers, including an ex-rear Gunner and wireless operator who was shot up during a raid over Germany. George Martin can be found in the Air Gunners Exhibition and I can assure you a more interesting bloke with his experiences and memories of this period I have yet to meet. The Museum is spread within several restored wartime sheds which house the various themes on display, along with many restored aircraft outside and in hangers. It also still has the air traffic control tower which displays how things would have been. One of the hangers displays other restored Aircraft including, the Halifax bomber of which nearly 80 were lost during raids over Germany from this base alone. Other more modern planes are also on display including the Buccaneer, Vulcan Bomber, and Harrier to name a few. The museum continues to restore aircraft and long may it continue we had an excellent day out and at an entrance cost of only £5.00 per adult including parking it wasn't going to break the bank.

We went on a slightly miserable but warm morning. When we arrived we were very impressed with the…read moresetup of the museum. It is very well kept with lots if different executions and lots of planes to see. I was particularly impressed with the Halifax bomber! You could also try out a couple of actual cockpits and they had 2 simulators, one to practice landings and the other as a rear gunner! The sun came out and it was a glorious day, we sat outside the NAAFI with a drink and a cake from the canteen. We would highly recommend you take a trip out, the kids would love it at well!!!

We visited the Beamish Museum 7 years ago and came back for the second time. It is a great living…read morehistory museum. We visited this time specifically the 1900's and 1950's villages. Most houses and shops are accessible with people in period outfits providing explanations. Of course, we also bought stuff in the vintage shops. Getting around happened on the great vintage bus and tram service. Altogether, a great day out. Note: tickets are not cheap, but valid for a year. Do book online to avoid the queue.

Wow! I visited from Edinburgh and had the best time! Beamish museum is such a magical place, like…read morebeing on a movie set with people all in traditional clothing walking around, working in the 1900's chemist where you can buy soaps, lip salve, and other things, the confectionery shop and bakery for pies and cakes and sweets, sit in the sun inn pub for a pint, ride on the many trams for free as the conductor yells 'hold tight' as you travel very slowly around the town, jumping on and off at various tram stops eg: 1900's town, Rowley station, 1900's pitt village, 1940's farm, 1950's town and farm where you can go into an air raid shelter and visit the homes and some of the residents. There is also the 1820's colliery, Pockerley waggonway, old hall and the transport depot all to explore. It is such an experience and I found myself grinning from ear to ear the full 6 hours I was there. Everyone keeps in character that at one point when i was visiting the community hall the lady was sweeping the floors talking about cleaning up after entertaining children and I couldn't tell if she was playing a character or if it was real as there were schools of children visiting that day but thats how it is, its a full immersive experience and I honestly loved it!

On a typically stormy night in Cumberland, more than 400 years ago, an oak tree crashed to ground…read morein Keswick. The split earth gave up a wealth of black lead, known locally as wad and soon to be renamed graphite. It was the purest graphite in the world and gave rise to riches, skulduggery and the world's first pencil industry. This tale is told by Professor Henry Petroski in The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (1990) and laid out in admirably simple style in this quirky museum, off a side road in the town. Everything you ever wanted to know about pencil manufacture (but were afraid to ask) is answered here, from how early artist's pencils were made to why the Napoleonic Wars broke the Cumberland monopoly on pencil production. Budding and successful artists can hone their skills in a small workshop at the back of the museum.

You know when something is so naff, that it comes full-circle and actually becomes quite cool? Yes?…read moreWell, that's the pencil museum. It's a museum. And it's full of pencils. We went along because it was raining, and we needed something to keep us out of the pub for an hour. On entering and paying your £3, you receive a free pencil. Now, how many museums give out demos of their exhibits like that, eh? The last time you walked into the Natural History Museum, did they hand you the thigh bone from a woolly mammoth to take home and decorate your mantel with? I'll bet not. Point 1 to the Pencil Museum. Clutching your cedar-smelling new pencil, you walk through a kind of papier mache tunnel (graphite mine) into the museum: a small set of rooms with case after case of pencils. From the humble origins (writing with dirty lumps of graphite), through the evolution of the wooden holder, and on to the colourful array of pencils we all take for granted today. I know. Case upon case of pencils - I can see you stifling a yawn - but, remember, it's got to be truly rubbish to be able to swing round full circle. Highlights: clever secret war pencils with maps and compasses inside, and a big photo-opportunity pencil to stand next to with a sign saying 'This is me a the Cumberland Pencil Museum'. Brilliant.

Came here on the way down south. Only had limited time, but this castle was on our route. Has an…read moreinteresting part in history and was free for us EH members. For 500 years, until the English and Scottish crowns were united in 1603, Carlisle Castle was the principal fortress of England's north-western border with Scotland. Unlike most medieval castles, it has been continuously occupied since its foundation by William II in 1092. When Mary, Queen of Scots fled from her rebellious subjects to England in May 1567, she was housed for some weeks here. This was the last time the castle was used as a royal residence. These are just some of the countless interesting facts. There's a lot more to see, learn and read. Funnily enough just the day before we've visited Linlinthgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary. You can visit lots of rooms, can walk on the walls. You can see the prison cells and much more. Its' a highly interesting castle. There is also Cumbria's Museum of Military Life on site, if you got some time on your hands. A museum shop, toilets and a café/restaurant. Picnic tables outside as well. All in all a very interesting visit. We only had 2-3 hours time, but you could easily spend a day here.

From the outside a very nice building with a piece of well-kept lawn. For our group, however, the…read moreadmission fee was a touch expensive, so we left the charms of the interior to wealthier people. Zvenku velmi pěkná stavba s opečovávaným trávníkem. Pro naši skupinku ovšem poněkud dražší vstupné, takže kouzla interiéru jsme nechali movitějším :)