Michelham Priory House & Gardens England's longest medieval…read morewater filled moat surrounds the site which dates back to 1229. Explore Michelham's fascinating 800 year history, from its foundation by Augustinian canons, through the destruction caused by the dissolution of the monasteries in Tudor times and into its later life as a country house. This picturesque island offers a great day out for the family. The Tudor mansion includes: - Interactive Victorian kitchen - WWII evacuee bedroom - Tudor kitchen - Prior's room - Undercroft Additional highlights: - 7 acres of grounds with kitchen garden, physic and medieval herb garden - working watermill and forge - interactive medieval gallery in the 14th century gatehouse - replica Bronze Age roundhouse - children's play area - trails, dressing up and hands-on activities throughout the house - café and gift shop - regular events throughout the year . A brilliant day out had a really good time it was their ww2 weekend lots of military vehicles people dressed up like 1930s and 1940s wartime singing songs like who do you think you are kidding mr hitler run rabbit run. Even the cafe had a wartime menu . A really good day out 10/10 loved it

This is proper old English heritage at it's best. Nestled away in the countryside not too far from…read moreLewes, the priory has a lot to offer. The river Arun has been diverted to enclose the estate in a picturesque moat that has a lot of fish in it. Sadly, you can't boat on it for safety reasons, but it still creates a great initial impression when you arrive and have to cross the moat to the gatehouse. You can explore the gatehouse, but sadly there are no exhibits in here anymore. The main priory is an interesting building and throughout there are a number of volunteers who act as free guides to talk you through the history of the building. I would recommend getting them to show you the mechanics of the kitchen fires, secret passage and inform you of the general history of the priory. They are all very friendly and have a wealth of interesting information at their disposal. Much better than listening to a headset, or reading off an information placard. Aside from the house, there is a working black smithy and rope museum to investigate, a cafe, gift shop and extensive grounds to explore. This includes a apothecary garden where they grow a wide range of herbs and plants used for medicine in times before the scientific revolution. Further investigation will lead you to a charming walled vegetable garden complete with a trellised vine network. It's best to see this in the summer when all is in full swing. The grounds are laid out in a number of walks and you can enjoy a very nice picnic by following the routes. One of these leads to a 14 century roundhouse project where they have recreated a number of traditional huts. Kids will love this. The estate also hosts a number of events in the summer period including medieval reenactments, plays and concerts. The website will detail these. Also, be aware that the opening times are seasonal and you should ensure that the priory is open before making your trip. One final addition to the day is a trip around the working watermill and you can even volunteer to work there for an afternoon and get a hands on experience of how to mill flour. All in all a very nice day out and this should be a designated trip on any summer itinerary in the area.

It's a castle, it's made of stone and it's very old. Built by the Normans or built to keep them…read moreout, can't remember which. There are some cannons outside and one of those wood plaques with a hole where you can attach someone's head and point and laugh at them. Yea, I should have taken a picture to make this easier. The castle courtyard is small like my backyard at home. I didn't pay the £4 it costs to enter, because it didn't look like it would be worth it.

Very modest local history museum. Entry fee is UKP 4 for an adult. small kids (maximum 3) get free…read moreentry. The items on display aren't very special, and it's a small place that won't occupy your time for more than 20 minutes. The tower itself is more appealing and rewarding than the inside. There's an authentic women's prison cell which is interesting, simple multimedia presentation included. The place does offer special activities for children, and for families with smaller fry it might be worth a visit. Not suitable for disabled people! If you do visit, make sure to drop by at the adjacent Ypres Castle Inn, a pub that offers a good selection of ales, solid food and a great view from the outside seating area.

We really enjoyed our family visit here. It suited all ages and surprisingly for a museum our…read morechildren would have stayed for much longer than we had time for. We need to go back again to see all the things we missed last time. The only reason I didn't give five stars is because it was very difficult carrying the toddler. This is just due to the age of the building that it is not possible to take the buggy round and that had to be left behind. So I would suggest leaving this until your youngest child is about 4yrs old - old enough to be interested in seeing the beautifully laid out rooms and learn a bit about the past. We visited during the autumn but apparently when the weather is fine there is a lot ot do in the gardens at the back. Exit is through the gift shop. This was wonderfully stocked so expect to be forking out for toys and novelties to take home. There are pay and display carparks down the highstreet or park in the Battle Abbey car park.

Great selection of displays, has been expanded recently so a lot to see, great little shop when u…read morecome out as well

The is one of several impressive sites from World War Two in northern France, connected to the…read moredevelopment and construction of the V2 rocket-bombs by the Nazi regime. The site at Éperlecques was designed and built by the Todt Organisation, initially using voluntary labour, but later using large numbers of forced labour. Essentially, the site consisted of a series of enormous bunkers, intended to include a liquid oxygen plant for the V2 rocket propellant, an assembly plant to load on the explosive warhead, and a firing facility. 35,000 labourers worked at the site between 1943 and 1944. However, the Allies were alerted to its existence before it was completed. A series of bombing raids, using the then newly-developed 'Tallboy' bunker-busting bombs, caused severe damage to the facility (as well as huge loss of life to the construction workers). Thereafter, V2 construction was moved to a new site at La Coupole, and the bunker was used only to manufacture liquid oxygen. The site to-day is surrounded by woods, and the most of the tour takes place out of doors: displays explain the concept of forced labour, the Todt organisation, and the background to the V1 and V2 rockets. But the highlight is the bunker itself. It's a huge construction - over 90,000 tonnes of concrete were used, and the Blockhaus rises over 25m from the ground. It's a sobering thought to think that it is only a third of its planned size. The atmosphere is chilling, almost eerie: much of the lower section is under water, as without pumps the groundwater has flowed back in. The impact of the tallboy bombs is made clear by huge holes in the bunker roof and masses of twisted metal reinforcement. Part of the interior is accessible: a video presentation in the largest chamber inside describes the construction and operation of the facility, and the lives (and deaths) of the labourers. The tour finishes with outdoor displays of a V1 launch pad and other military items. There's no cafe but there is a small shop on site, selling books and momentos. There is specially reserved (level and firm) parking for motorcycles, and motorcyclists get a reduction of 1EUR on the entry fee. The whole site is now a French national memorial, dedicated to the victims of forced labour.

Dark. Concrete. Austere. Concrete. Twisted metal. Concrete. Concrete and more concrete. This is Le…read moreBlockhaus. It's also an immensely interesting place which in one foul swoop shows the strength and the evils of war. Situated in northern France, not far from the equally excellent La Coupole, Le Blockhaus is a war site, left untouched from its abandonment, standing as a monument to all. The bunker of Eperlecques was (and is) the largest WW2 bunker in Northern France. One cannot fail to be amazed at the scale of the construction, largely hidden from view until you're at its feet. There's a real sense of desolation here, despite other tourists walking round and chatting. The evil that was felt at La Coupole was not felt in such quantities here although it's hard to state why. Perhaps that Le Blockhaus was discovered by the Allies before too much evil was allowed to form here. Who knows? Evidence of warfare lies all around. The V1 doodlebug is on display, sitting atop its launch rails. Shells, rails, trains and did I mention the twisted metal and concrete? Le Blockhaus is more of a monument than a traditional museum. There is facility for guided tours but this place stands on its own and speaks far more loudly than any guide could. You'll only need an hour or so to visit here and it makes an ideal companion visit to La Coupole in nearby St Omer. Recommended.

We were in London during a heat wave and decided a museum day was in order, to entertain our…read morechildren away from the scorching sun. We settled on the Natural History Museum, and by the time we realized it would provide but faint relief, it was too late to go somewhere else. The Natural History Museum is one of London's spectacular free museums, a beautiful building on Exhibition Road in South Kensington. We were not, apparently, the only family who decided to visit on this hot Thursday afternoon in July, and we ended up waiting in a long, slow line, completely exposed to the sun. They might have put up some umbrellas, but I guess the weather was atypical. Once we were in, we learned that the museum is an old, historic building without much in the way of air conditioning. It was crowded and steamy in there, though still preferable to being outside. There were also a few newer exhibition halls that had proper AC. Thankfully, my three-year-old has a lifelong fascination with fans, and there were dozens of these on display, giant machines designed to ventilate large spaces. He was, in fact, more into these than he was into the dinosaurs, which scared the bejeezus out of him. The museum was definitely top tier, with tons of interesting exhibits to entertain both children and adults. We entered right into Hintze Hall, where a full blue whale skeleton hung suspended over our heads. We also admired a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite, dating back to the beginning of our solar system. The dinosaur hall was excellent, even if the animatronic T-rex made my little boy cry. We fell prey to one of the photo op stops, and I definitely paid for the downloads like a sucker--what, was I not gonna own the silly green screen pictures of my family among dinosaurs, and more importantly, looking at a camera at the same time? The mammal hall was cool, though I have to say, I missed the grand diorama displays of the mammal halls I've seen back home. We went into a newer exhibit on how to fix our broken planet, mostly for the air conditioning. My kids were less into the conservation stuff than the dinosaurs and fans, but I thought it was quite well done. I actually stopped buying beef treats for my dog as a result of one of the placards, which talked about the impact on the planet of using beef for pet food. We went to two gift shops, the one by the dinosaur hall and the main one near the entrance, and both were quite nice, with lots to look at for our kids. We allowed them to buy stuffies, and our three-year-old bought a tiny dodo and a tiny ankylosaurus (on theme, good job), while our six-year-old bought a flamingo to add to his flamingo collection. If there was a flamingo display at the museum, we missed it, though I suppose I wouldn't be surprised. I can tell by looking at the map now that we missed plenty. We spent a little time in the cafe, for fans and beverages, and I realized as we were leaving that I'd left my sunglasses there over an hour earlier. I was pleasantly surprised to find it at the register waiting for me. We take the kids to natural history museums at home, and I have no doubt we'd make good use of this one if we were raising them nearby. It's a wonderful place, expansive and educational, a truly amazing free resource to anyone spending time in London.

Lots of bones! Plenty of old stuff! Great turn-of-the-century over-the-top ornate architecture!…read morePlan on an hour unless you're hardcore. Ride the escalator into the middle of the earth to find out what music is playing inside. See extraordinary taxidermy handiwork. Even see a fake dodo bird thought to be an adjacent species that didn't exist. And if you like dinosaurs this is your Mecca. Just don't dare sit anywhere like on some stairs in the corner or some overzealous guard will kick you right out. But otherwise you'll have a great time. Also enjoy the outside grounds for a stroll, and hit up the West entrance for zero lines while the hoards line up on the other side.

Big! Giant! Huge Collection! I think that describes this museum. Be prepared to spend at least half…read moreday here. For fast pace like me, it takes us 3 hours. This museum need reservations ahead of time. It is free to public. The museum is popular, if you try to get in at the day arrive, you have to hope not many reserve the ticket. The museum has a lot room with different regions in the world. Many of the collection even the host country doesn't have it. The Egypt collection includes the many types of mummies. This collection not even the Egypt has it. The entrance basically enter to the round section that connected to the different room. You may need a good leg to walk entire museum. They also have folding chairs that you can use and portable to open at the display.

Late Saturday afternoon in the summer:…read more The Good: *Admission is free! *No cattle crowd lines for security check, I basically walked up. *The new (compared to the original) Grand Courtyard is stunning and a fantastic photo op. *Enlightenment Room 1 is literally the coolest place in the summer. *The Rosetta Stone, Room 4 is a don't miss. *ditto the Tang dynasty figures and China history which was eye-opening in Room 33. Jade story was interesting too in Room 33a. The Bad: *Probably because it's free, the place is super crowded with students, elderly, tourists and large tour groups of all stripes. *The security line was empty because everyone was already inside. *Most of the rooms are hot in summer. I was sweating and clammy. I was surprised people weren't fainting due to the stuffy air. *You have about 10 seconds to see the Rosetta Stone due to the crowd who also don't want to miss it. *Enlightenment Room 1 was filled with people sitting and resting and cooling off in the library-like space. *Special exhibition-Declaring Independence, USA 250 was super small but I guess appropriate given the British lost the war. Room 3. I forgot I had already been to the British Museum 12 years ago. I think I've seen enough but maybe return in the midweek and when it isn't so hot. Sometimes the museum closes early due to the heat.

Small lovely museum, funded mainly by donations with lovely staff. Educational and mind opening…read moreexperience. I hope the museum gets the opportunity to expand and have more exhibits. When we came they had an exhibit about menopause. I think more people need to learn about the vagina in general and as a whole and understand what it is like to have one and all the burdens that come along with it and without it in the end.

A soon as I saw the name on the sign outside I HAD to go in. They have a wide variety of products…read moredisplayed from information pamphlets, books and jewellery that looks like ummm well I'm not sure what word Yelp will consider PC or risqué so just read the name of the business and you'll know exactly what I'm messing. You can wear them on your ears with a knitted sweet or on a chain around your neck made of an plastic type material, they had bold showing every size, shape and colour. You can also get t-shirts. The staff stayed behind the desk but they were friendly and greeted everyone that entered. I realised like myself most people seemed to be coming in out of curiosity and don't make any purchases but b they staff took that in stride and continued greeting everyone with the same courteous smile. Kudos to this company for celebrating woman so boldly