Travel back in time in the West Lakes
Kids and adults alike can travel back in time in 2008, if they head to the beautiful Western Lake District to explore its heritage and history this Easter - or at other times throughout the year.BEACON OF LIGHT FOR INQUIRING MINDS
Heading back to the Eighteenth Century is easy for those stepping inside the newly refurbished Beacon, on the harbourside in historic Whitehaven. This five storey, lighthouse-shaped building houses fine and decorative art, archaeological artefacts, numismatics, photographs, textiles, maps and items illuminating the political and social history of the wonderful, Georgian town.
Starting at ground level, where a harbour-side restaurant and activity room can be found, visitors can work their way up the building, discovering new aspects relating to Whitehaven’s heritage as they go.
The first floor is home to the Harbour Gallery, set to house eight amazing art and history exhibitions during 2008, entry to these included in the admission price.
The second floor Work and Play area allows visitors to find out more about the local industries in the area, to discover a Georgian town from above, explore differences between the rich and poor of the town and learn about the games people played in days gone by. They can also duck and take cover as Whitehaven residents have had to do during periods of war!
Tides and Trades is the theme of the third floor and this explores thousands of years of Copeland history, examining stone circles, forts, abbeys, castles, place names, merchant ships and the exotic goods they brought to the once thriving port. Visitors can explore shipbuilding, join the crew on the Maria Lowther ship, survive a shipwreck and relive the decline and revival of Whitehaven harbour.
Moving up one floor brings the visitor into the Views and the Weather Zone, where powerful telescopes, banners, displays and graphics bring the subject of geology, plant and animal life to life, whilst also examining the 1778 attack on the port by the pirate, John Paul Jones.
The weather area, on the Mezzanine, is an area in which visitors can present the weather forecast, generate wind power, investigate aspects relating to climate, whilst also having fun with the interactive touch-screen.
Guided tours of the town can also be enjoyed, these tailored to particular interests, including studying the Georgian architecture, examining the development of the harbour, learning more about coal mining, or hearing about the John Paul Jones attack. Self-guided walk maps are also available for purchase in the gift shop.
Regular Beaconeer arts, crafts, story and historical re-enactment sessions are open to children of all ages, with themes changing throughout the year and details posted on the website.
Easter crafts will be based around the theme of Space and Place, using a variety of craft materials. A choice of two sessions is available, from either 11am-1pm, or 2pm-4pm. Sessions for 8-11 year olds will run on March 27 and 29 and sessions for 11-16 year olds on March 28 and 30. Beaconeer sessions cost £2 per child aged 3-12, on top of admission. Booking is essential.
The Beacon is home to a library, available as a resource for local historians. The Museum also houses 5,000 photos featuring aspects of Copeland and Whitehaven’s past.
The Beacon opens from Tuesday to Sunday, and on Bank Holiday Mondays, from 10am-4.30pm. Last admission is 45 minutes before closing. The attraction is closed between December 24-26.
An adult ticket costs £4.60, whilst concessions can enter for £3.70 and under 16s enter free, when accompanied by a paying adult.
Whitehaven can be approached by the M6 and A66, before entering the town on the A595. Brown tourist signs to the town centre will lead motorists to the harbour area, where The Beacon is situated. Car parking is available on the harbourside.
Whitehaven can also be reached by rail, lying on the Carlisle to Barrow West Cumbrian Coast rail line. The Beacon is a ten-minute walk from Bransty station.
For more details visit Thebeacon-whitehaven.co.uk
TANK UP ON FUN AT RAF MUSEUM
The history of Cumbria during World War II was brought to life in BAFTA winning Housewife 49, starring Victoria Wood, but to put more meat on the bones of the wartime period in Cumbria, visitors should head to the RAF Museum in Millom.
Having picked up a 2007 Best Visitor Attraction accolade, the RAF Millom Museum is a haven for kids, with 27,000 square feet of exhibits to handle and explore, whether they wish to sit in the cockpit of a Hunter jet plane, or aim a First World War Vickers machine gun.
Comprising five internal and one external zones, the Museum has extensive World War I and World War II displays, tons of RAF memorabilia, over 4,000 wartime photos, artefacts, a Centurion tank and a collection of mobile cranes formerly used to life crashed planes. One of these also has a more modern story to tell, having been used in the TV series, ‘All Creatures Great and Small’.
It is home to several aero engines, including RR Merlin, Kestrel, Avon and Griffon. It also has a Home Front display, complete with Anderson shelter.
Whilst chronicling the air war over North West England in World War II, the Museum also brings military history to life, during the volatile times of the early to mid 20th Century. Munitions, medals, firearms, uniforms and insignia, documents, models and personal tales of bravery and loss, are just some of the things to fascinate and enthral visitors, whether they remember these times, or simply wish to learn more about them.
The Museum certainly does justice to the aircrews and aircraft builders and maintenance staff whose work was so vital for the World War II war effort and who helped mitigate the devastation of the blitz in North West England.
It is housed in the buildings of the former RAF base, which opened in January 1941 as No 2 Bombing and Gunnery School, becoming No 2 Air Observer School that summer. In 1942, it became No 2 Observer Advance Flying Unit, before putting under care and maintenance in 1946. It has played a pivotal role in the RAF Mountain Rescue Service and began its life as a Museum in 1992, when the collection first began.
RAF Millom is located at 21 Holborn Hill, Millom, LA18 5BH. More information is available from Rafmillom.co.uk. Adult admission costs £2.00 and children can enter for £1.00. A family ticket is priced at £5.00. In summer months, visitors can enjoy a picnic on the beach, after touring the Museum.
STEAM BACK IN HISTORY
Travelling on the world’s oldest working 15 inch gauge locomotive is a great way in which to instantly step back in time, as 125,000 visitors a year appreciate, when they buy a ticket for a Ravenglass & Eskdale steam train journey.
The railway will be staging an Easter Bonanza between Good Friday and Easter Monday (March 21-24 inclusive), with chocolate Easter bunnies all over the place, which loveable watervole Stationmaster, La'al Ratty, needs to catch, with the assistance of a few helpful children.
Children aged from one to fifteen, who board the train at Ravenglass, on the Cumbrian West coast, with their Mums or Dads, will automatically be given a huge bunny hunt quiz sheet - bound to keep them rabbiting throughout the journey, answering the questions as they travel.
By presenting their sheet at Dalegarth, they can win a chocolate bunny, before shaking paws with La'al Ratty and having photos taken. As he's such a clued up fellow, he can often provide the answers to more difficult questions too, so he's a good person to talk to!
The railways hugely popular Steam & Romans experience, will this year be running every Wednesday from May to the end of October in 2008 and is a wonderful way to get to grips with life as a Roman legionnaire, in Cumbria, at the height of the Roman Empire.
Meeting a guide at Ravenglass Station, ticket-holders for Steam & Romans first enjoy a short walk to a nearby bath-house at the Roman Fort of Glannaventa, the remains of which are some of the most substantial in the country.
Next, they enjoy a steam train journey through Miterdale and Eskdale, arriving at Dalegarth for a freshly prepared lunch in the Fellbites eatery, having enjoyed some of the most stunning scenery in England and possible sightings of wildlife such as oystercatchers, deer, buzzards and red squirrels.
Jumping aboard a luxury mini-bus, day-trippers ascend the notorious Hardknott Pass, with its many hairpin bends and 1:3 gradients, before reaching the Roman stone-built fort of Mediobogdum. The footings of this fort stand on a plateau, around halfway up the ascent.
A talk from the guide allows the group to understand the fort’s role, at the time of the Roman occupation, as well as appreciating what lies on the stunning landscape all around, this including the Isle of Man, on a clear day. Exploration and photography are given adequate time in the schedule, before the steam journey back to Ravenglass.
Tickets for the Steam & Romans Experience on the Ravenglass & Eskdale railway cost £19.90 per head, inclusive of steam travel and lunch. Only 24 people per week can be accommodated on this unique journey, so booking is essential. Visit Ravenglass-railway.co.uk for more information.
History abounds in the Western Lake District, which is also home to historic homes such as The Wordsworth House (Cockermouth), Muncaster Castle (near Ravenglass) and Mirehouse (near Keswick). Award-winning attraction, The Rum Story (Whitehaven), brings the story of the port’s liquor trade (and thus connections with the Slave Trade) to life, whilst the Senhouse Museum (Maryport) has an impressive collection of Roman altars and other Roman artefacts.
For more information about the Western Lake District, visit Western-lakedistrict.co.uk.
