When visiting a new country, or even a new part of the country, it is always worthwhile to visit a local museum. These wonderful establishments are depositories of history and offer a rare glimpse into the values and standards of bygone days as well as vividly depicting problems and issues faced by the people in those days. When you are travelling around Britain you have an almost unlimited choice as to which free museum you would like to visit: there is something for everyone, with everything, from industrial secrets and tricks to dinosaurs and even trains, being commemorated or celebrated in a museum somewhere!
London
London is perhaps the most famous city for free museums housing what can arguably be called the big four: the British Museum, the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The latter three are clustered close together, but it is almost impossible to see everything on offer at even just one of them in one day! A vast range of exhibits from Britain’s colonial past can be seen in the British Museum including the always-popular Egyptian mummies. The Science Museum is sure to delight young inquiring minds with its amusing and entertaining exhibits and displays. Launchpad is a large interactive area within the museum where youngsters can learn about scientific principles while having great fun. The Natural History Museum is instantly recognisable with its life-sized dinosaur skeleton but has also added a wonderful animatronic display featuring many life-like moving dinosaur models including an impressive and fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Victoria and Albert Museum provides an intimate glimpse into other cultures and times, with displays of wonderful examples of shoes, dresses and household odds and ends.
Liverpool
Liverpool is home to the recently opened Museum of Liverpool. This striking angular building sits on the banks of the river and holds a wealth of exhibits and items that commemorate all that is best and beautiful about this fabulous port city. The World Museum features six floors crammed with fascinating, interesting, weird and wonderful items. From Samurai armour to a piece of Martian meteorite, from dinosaur skulls to tray upon tray of exquisitely beautiful butterfly specimens, the World Museum is sure to delight the whole family. The International Slavery Museum pays tribute to that dark and sad period of history when profit and comfort were put above fellow human’s lives and dignity.
York
Beautiful York is home to the National Railway Museum where train spotters and transport buffs can immerse themselves in the history and technology of everything trains! There are plenty of hotels and accommodations in York so you do not need to hurry to see the museum in just an hour or two – you can spend the night and enjoy some of the other sights in the city.
Glasgow
Should you venture as far afield as Scotland you will be delighted to discover the Kelvingrove Museum which displays that sometimes the hidden side of Glasgow – the cultured and artistic side! The museum boasts a fabulous World War II Spitfire – the plane that potentially changed the course of the war. There is also an exquisite and thought-provoking Salvador Dali painting, ‘Christ of St John of the Cross’ which belongs entirely to the museum, the artist has sold the copyright along with the picture.
Oxford
The oldest museum in Britain should be on everyone’s list too! The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford had its beginnings as a humble collection of paintings and curiosities in a single room in the early 1600s. By 1683 the collection had grown so substantially that it needed a building of its own. The name was taken from Elias Ashmole who gifted a cabinet of curiosities to the University in 1677. Some of the treasures apparently lost over the years include Joseph’s coat of many colours and the last dodo specimen, which was discarded after it became moth-eaten. The museum does house a sword given to Henry VIII by the pope, and a Guy Fawkes lantern amongst many other objects sure to excite interest and fascination in all visitors.
These are just a few of the many hundreds of fabulous museums dotted around Britain. No matter which town or county you are visiting be sure to allow a few hours to explore one of the many free and fabulous museums of Britain.
