There’s a museum for everyone in the South East
If you think museums are boring - think again! With more than 300 museums across the nine counties that make up South East England, there is huge variety on offer and every visitor to the region will find a range of choices to stimulate and inspire them.
2010 is Year of the Museum in the South East, and the following is just a small selection of the inventive, thought-provoking and fun ideas for a great day out. Be prepared to be surprised!
Top places for children:
Dinosaur Farm Museum (Isle of Wight)
Listed in the Guardian Family Friendly Awards 2009, this museum is bursting with fossils and bones and offers guided fossil hunts and other hands on activities for kids - dinosaurisle.com
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (Portsmouth, Hampshire)
Home to the Mary Rose, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior 1860, this is a great day out for the whole family, with the Action Stations activity centre offering climbing walls, helicopter simulators and other cool stuff for kids (and dads!) - historicdockyard.co.uk
Credit crunch culture - free museum experiences:
Museum of History & Science (Oxford, Oxfordshire)
With one of the largest collections of early scientific instruments, this is also one of the world’s oldest surviving purpose-built museums. There are plenty of events, gallery tours and talks to keep you interested at no cost at all! mhs.ox.ac.uk
Booth Museum of Natural History (Brighton, East Sussex)
Free of charge to enter, this museum-cum-gallery has an outstanding collection of quirky and unique photography - booth.virtualmuseum.info
Museums for getting your hands dirty:
Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre (Arundel, West Sussex)
Amberley is a 36 acre open-air site dedicated to the industrial heritage of the South East. The museum offers a wide range of exhibits and industry-based collections, but it’s the opportunity to try different crafts that makes this a special day out - amberleymuseum.co.uk
Chiltern Open-Air Museum (Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire)
Houses and workplaces of past generations are disappearing from our landscape day-by-day. But at the Chiltern Open Air Museum the built heritage of the Chilterns is being preserved and interpreted for the future - join the fun and take part in a traditional wash day, rag rug making and ‘make do and mend’ sessions. For the more serious enthusiast, a range of craft workshops and courses are also available - coam.org.uk
Bursledon Windmill (Southampton, Hampshire)
Try grinding your own flour at this traditional mill near Southampton, one of 19 separate museums and specialist sites across the county of Hampshire. Other highlights include The Allen Gallery at Alton with its outstanding ceramics collection, and Andover’s Museum of the Iron Age, which tells the story of the Danebury Ring hill fort - Hants.gov.uk/museums
Literary giants:
Rochester Guildhall Museum (Rochester, Kent)
Charles Dickens spent many years living in Kent and you can learn about this in the Discover Dickens Room at the Museum - which was actually mentioned in Great Expectations! visitmedway.org
Dickens Bicentenary 2012 (Kent)
In 2012 the county of Kent will celebrate the Bicentenary of Charles Dickens’ birth, with a range of activities and events planned. Key spots to join in the fun are Dickens World (Chatham) and the Dickens House Museum (Broadstairs), while across the county you’ll find spots that inspired the author and featured in many of his finest works - visitkent.co.uk/dickens
Jane Austen House Museum (Chawton, Hampshire)
We can’t promise Mr Darcy, but complete with learning centre and garden, this museum offers a wide range of new activities based on the interpretation of Jane Austen’s life - jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk
Dine out on culture - restaurants with a museum attached:
Waddesdon Manor (Nr. Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire)
The old kitchen and servants’ hall at the 130 year-old Waddesdon Manor have been transformed into the waiter-served Manor Restaurant, perfect for lunch or a traditional High Tea in between strolls around the magnificent gardens - waddesdon.org.uk
Osborne House (Isle of Wight)
Great for a family day out, this house was built by Queen Victoria and offers a fascinating glance into the royal family’s history. The terrace restaurant provides spectacular views across the Solent - english-heritage.org.uk/osborne
Stay outside the museum!
Ashdown House (Newbury, Berkshire)
This beautiful house, located on the Berkshire Downs, is surrounded by woodland, making it ideal for picnics and days out in the sun - nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-ashdownhouse
Hatchlands Park (Clandon, Surrey)
Built in the 1750s, this house is full of nautical motifs and paintings - as well as the Cobbe Collection, Europe’s largest collection of keyboard instruments, with some associated with Bach, Elgar and Chopin, there is also 400 acres of parkland to explore - nationaltrust.org.uk/hatchlands
Youngsters’ favourite stories:
Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre (Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire)
This family-friendly, award-winning museum is jam-packed with facts and fun, as well as boasting an interactive storytelling centre. Relive those childhood stories of giant peaches and great glass elevators! roalddahlmuseum.org
Kenneth Grahame (The Wind in the Willows) - River & Rowing Museum (Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire)
The River & Rowing Museum holds a permanent Wind in the Willows exhibition where Mr Toad, Ratty, Badger and Mole come to life with 3D models that depict their adventures - rrm.co.uk
Getting hitched - museums to be married at:
The Historic Dockyard Chatham (Kent)
This is a magnificent location for a wedding ceremony or reception, aboard the Victorian naval sloop HMS Gannet (1878) - one of three warships on permanent display - thedockyard.co.uk
Horsham Museum (Horsham, West Sussex)
This medieval timber framed building, located on one of Sussex’s most picturesque streets, would be the perfect spot to say ‘I do’ with a treasure trove of local history objects in 26 galleries - horshammuseum.org
For more information about museums in South East England, please see: culture24.org.uk/southeast
For more information on visiting South East England, including places to stay from B&Bs to luxury hotels, please see: visitsoutheastengland.com