A fascinating perspective on the contributions by the people of the Manchester area to major…read moreinnovations in science and industry throughout history. Numerous displays and examples of equipment and machinery large and small. Steam engines to electron microscopes on display, with emphasis on Manchester's relationship with the cotton industry, both good and bad. Something for everyone here, young and old. Free to enter, donations appreciated. Reservations will make sure that you don't need to wait for entry. A must-see if you are in the area.

Fantastic place for families with children! Adults can enjoy the many exhibits while young ones can…read moreenjoy the hands on displays. We liked watching the textile demonstration in the Textile area. This place has so much to see and do. And it's free! Contributions are gladly accepted to keep this fabulous museum operational.

This is a very impressive museum full of artifacts and exhibits. We loved everything about this…read moremuseum and the best part was the entrance is free! They have artifacts from Egypt, Africa, and many locations. They have quite a bit of wild animal exhibits representing the different species in the UK. They have a nice cafe to sit and rest also. They have a lift. I definitely recommend this museum. So nice and so much to see.

Imagine it is 150 years ago, and you are a rich, white English dude. You travel the world and…read moresimply help yourself to whatever catches the fancy of your magpie little brain. You plunder flora and fauna, antiquities, important cultural objects from other peoples. You compete with other rich, white dudes to create the biggest collection of the most random things someone could think of. "I have one of every butterfly on each of the inhabited continents!" "Oh yeah, my stuffed 2-toed sloth is bigger than yours!" Fast forward to the present, and the current caretakers of this hodgepodge of objects of dubious provenance are tasked with creating cohesive exhibits for the public. There are some really interesting pieces in the museum. I was able to hold a 2,000 year-old carved stone perfum vial. See the cross section of a turtle skeleton (so cool how the spines follow the inner curve of the shell), admire a stuffed porcupine. It was fascinating to think about what caught the fancy of people in the past. I would have loved to have seen more discussion of how these objects came to be, and what that tells us about classism, racism, and the history of imperialism. Be that as it may, I'm glad to see that someone's past light fingeredness is at least entertaining and educating the public today, instead of collecting dust in a storage facility somewhere.

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.

Very interactive and interesting exhibits…read more FREE admission will get you into 90% of the actual museum. Variety of exhibits so it has a little something for everybody. The first floor was the Dive In! Aquarium. It had a very nice anemone tank and a variety of other tanks that had sea life. The second floor is the Bug space, and the beginning of the Natural History space. Both are very interactive and have plenty of kid friendly space. The Return of the Gods exhibit (which costs 8 GBP to visit) was on the third floor, but you could also see what I thought was the most interesting part of the museum which was the World Culture exhibit. The exhibits themselves are nice, but this museum has a novel approach to explaining how Liverpool got its items. Comedian Daliso Chaponda was narrating the process of how the museum procured the majority of its items through good ole colonization (kidding, not kidding). He brings to light the appropriation process through comedic discussion, novel and palatable. The 3rd floor also has the Egyptian Exhibit, which is very good. It's probably the jewel of the museum. The history of the pieces are well explained, and the mummies are displayed wonderfully, some in layers, some in narrative, and plenty of interactivity for the little ones. I didn't spend much time on the fourth floor (Dinosaurs) or fifth floor (Planetarium/Space). The fifth floor wasn't as impressive, but gave those genre's some space for those that are interested. It was the meh portions of the museum. If you have a few hours to burn, consider this museum a good choice for kids of all ages and interests.

Visited the museum especially to see the current special exhibition on the Chinese terracotta army…read morewhich was well worth the cost of the tickets. The building contains a large cafe on the ground floor that was well stocked with good quality food and deserts, this area also has access to free Wi-Fi. The next floor has the Aquarium and treasure house theater. The 2nd (3rd in US) floor has the special exhibition and the Bug House. Next floor contains World Cultures, Ancient Egypt and Western Discovery Center (only open weekends & school holidays. 4th floor holds Dinosaurs, Endangered Planet and Clore Natural History Center. Finally the 5th floor holds exhibits on Space and Time along with a Planetarium - tickets needed from the information desk on the ground floor. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and could not be more accommodating, well worth the visit. I should also add the this museum is free except for the special exhibit which needs tickets purchased either online or at the entrance with limited time slots available each day.

Ah, the Atkinson. Again, just another Southport landmark full of childhood memories for myself…read more Yep, my father used to bring me here regularly to ensure I had a lovely cultural upbringing, and it's a marvellous gallery housed in a terrific building right in the centre of the seaside town itself, opposite Lord Street and the band stand. Admission is free but donations are encouraged as every gift helps, no matter how small. And once you've walked around this spectacular yet strangely humble gallery you'd have to have a heart of ice not to want to give a little something. It has a varied and rather extensive collection, ranging from LS Lowry to John Piper, John Collier to Ernest Normand and many more. The Friends of the Atkinson Gallery are an organisation which helps to drum up even more interest for the gallery. It's currently closed for refurbishments but plans to reopen bigger and better than ever as part of a Southport cultural overhaul, so get involved as it's bound to increase in popularity after its makeover. Southport might not quite rival Brighton yet in the seaside artsy stakes, but it's getting there, and with the help of the Atkinson it'll get there a lot faster!

This is now an entertainment/cultural centre, with the art gallery, an auditorium, civic hall and…read morebotanic museum all within the grade 2 listed building. The entrance/foyer is welcoming and strikingly clean - statuary and paintings being the first things I saw. The bookings and information desks are unobtrusive, yet easy to find as the signage throughout is very clear. There are interesting display cases throughout. Up the impressive staircase are the toilets, the superb but expensive bar and the entrances to the auditorium. As I was there for a music concert, this is the area I saw best. A superb setting for Fairport Convention as they attract a fair number of fans, yet like to connect with their audience as intimately as possible. The seating was comfortable and gave us all a good view of the band. The sound was just superb.

We only visited to see the Northern Ireland exhibition. It's a very light touch. I wouldn't…read morerecommend it to anyone seriously studying our horrible history. We lived through this civil war for about 30 years. There's no sense from this exhibition that the British Army murdered 13 innocent people in Derry and it took over 50 years for a British prime minister to apologise after failed cover up and repeated denials. There's nothing about State sponsored murders. There were no CS gas canisters on display although they were routinely used and impacted many innocent folks living in their homes. The rubber bullet on display isn't the first generation I saw used - the ones I saw were far thicker and larger and I saw them fired at head height which wasn't permitted. The murderous IRA and their loyalist equivalents aren't condemned either. Northern Ireland was a hopelessly divided place from its creation over 100 years ago and I'm not convinced it's changed much for the better.

Wow, I was thoroughly impressed with this museum. It wasn't somewhere I was particularly keen to…read morevisit, but it's free and we had some time to kill in Salford Quays, so we thought we would have a quick wander around. Well, to be honest, I didn't want to leave! The museum presents a history of war from World War I until present day Afghanistan. This is done in such an informative and interactive way it will appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds. I have to admit that I didn't even know how WWI started until I visited here (the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Serbia if anyone's interested). The items they have on display are fascinating and emphasise the written words immensely well. My favourite interactive item was the mystery smells from the trenches - uumm, is that mustard gas or smelly feet?! There were models of planes, tanks and barrage balloons. There was exhibits about the role of women in WWII, there was information on the Cold war, the Falklands war, the Gulf war etc etc. It was a little depressing to watch history repeating itself over and over again but in a world full of politics, religion and greed (and oil) this is consistently going to be the result. The shape of the building is also unusual so you never really know how far around the museum you are. The building design from the outside is beautiful and contemporary but at the same time fits well into its surroundings. They usually have a special exhibition - this one was on war correspondents, but unfortunately I ran out of time to look around. There is a coffee shop and gift shop at the end, and plenty of staff available if you need to ask any questions. Best of all, the museum is free to enter, they just ask for donations and you can also buy a guidebook with all proceeds going towards the running of the museum.

Bowling Hall is a large museum in a medieval building, it is set in a leafy garden with a large…read morepark across the road. It was a stronghold in the 'siege of Bradford' and where a ghost requested that we 'pity poor Bradford'! The exhibits are quite 'traditional', but this doesn't detract from the charm of the museum, in fact quite often you can be the only people in the attraction which gives it a certain atmosphere, especially when you are wandering around the haunted rooms! The museum is large enough to while away an hour, but not too big that it would be boring for younger visitors. The promise of a play in the park and an icecream should keep them quiet and on their best behaviour too - the park opposite the museum is large and well kept and has something for everyone.

This is a lovely old house situated in the Bradford 4 area…read more The ground floor where you enter is slighlty darker than the rest and can frighten some younger children. There is many things on show, that can teach young children and older children about how people used is to live. This place is said to be haunted and appeared on most haunted. It has different events happening through out the years and is a good place to vist.

So my better half took me here after I ate an ice cream that almost weighed the same as my lad…read more It's a beautiful big park and hall. So we had a look at the pond and saw the geese and ducks. We then moseyed on up to field where we shot our Rockets. Flew the micro lite helicopter (great at take offs. Horrendously bad at landings). We also played football and threw the frisby We then had a walk up to the climbing frames. That Was very busy with kids with no manners so we swiftly moved on to the bouncy castle. You have to pay but good value for money and he got some much enjoyment out of running him and bouncy Down. I couldn't think of anything worse. We then had a little surprise with a free small animal section. Loads of birds. Little animals like rabbits. Tortoises. Squirrels etc. So good and quite educational. I was very impressed. We then headed back down to get a coffee. This was the only boringly bad element to the whole experience. To have 3 drinks and crisps I nearly had to raid my lads wallet as didn't take cards and wasnt cheap. That wasn't the worst bit. I had to queue for 30 mins. Lol I would definitely recommend if for an afternoon out. I left a tip too!

This is a great place to go if you are looking for a free day out with the kids.Not only is there…read moreloads of room for them to run round , play footie and generally let off steam but there's a well equipped play area too. The small pets area is open again now and there are always ducks on the lake so take a few rounds of bread with you!There is a cafe in the park which not only sells icecreams ,tea and coffee but also does some reasonably priced meals. The hall itself has lots to see and there are activities that children can complete on the way round, if you are a Chorley resident remember to take proof with you and entry is free.My kids loved going here and for a cheap day out we used to take a picnic there are plenty of trees to shelter under if it rains!The hall itself is open from April to October but the park is open all year round.

The Manchester Art Gallery isn't massive but has an interesting collection of pieces. It's also…read morefree to enter, so not much to lose by stopping in. My partner and I were in the area and checked it out because they had an exhibition on drinkware and the historical context of its supply and consumption. Lots of cool pieces and good insights on the exploitation involved with coffee, tea, and chocolate. Other than that, it's not unlike most museum visits. Wander around, stop by the gift shop perhaps, and then you're off!

Free to the public during the week! We stopped here because we couldn't check into your Airbnb yet…read more We stopped by and walked around. It's big, pretty and they have clean and nice bathrooms. They also have a cafe, and plenty of chairs so you can rest and sit. The gift shop is also very cute and they have free wifi! Definitely check it out if you need to kill some time!

We were advised to go to the museum in a bar the night before. It was a pleasantly surprising…read moreexperience. You have free entry to an excellent walk through of English history in light of worker rights and living conditions. It takes you from Peterloo to current day by exploring the impact of class distinction, the industrial revolution and onwards. Very interesting and insightful.

I'm going to do something really bad right now. I'm going to review a museum... café! Without…read morereviewing the museum itself, you see. So last Saturday I sidled in here, sheltering from the Mancunian drizzle, to get me some lunchtime eats. I was greeted by a very pleasant man who seemed to be running the show by himself, and there were countless comfy sofas and chairs and vertigo-inducingly high tables and stools dotted around. It was quiet, and that's the way I like it. The Left Bank café's incredibly sleek, as one would expect from a Couture Café enterprise (my, all Manc's museum eateries seem to be in bed with one another!). I clocked the chalkboards behind the dude in charge and saw 'vegetarian hot sandwich'. SOLD! Only then I was crushed, because as soon as I started saying it the gent told me the chef doesn't work on weekends so the options were pre-made sandwiches and soup. But this is where the place started to shine. When I heard tomato I winced, thinking, 'If this is cream of tomato, I'm outie.' Nope! Inspection of the self-service vat revealed a vegetably proper Italian soup, and since it was self-service, I totally abused my bowl. The bread was also help yourself, in a cute little box behind the soup, with options of white and granary. Very nice it was too. Combined with a very good strong coffee my lunch only cost me a little over a fiver, and I was full to the brim. I made a mental note to go back on a weekday and try more of their options. Oh, and I might have to check out the museum too. PHM, thankies for providing me with a most pleasant weekend afternoon!