Located deep inside Priority Park, this museum is nothing compared to what it used to be now…read moreseeming like nothing more than an old building that you can walk around and look at the furniture. This museum needs to be publicised more and get in some of the larger exhibits, and perhaps form some form of collaboration with other local museums in the area such as the Central Museum near the Southend Town Centre, and perhaps share exhibits and information, perhaps offer some sort of buy-out. The museum itself is decently laid out with some small exhibits from (very) Old Leigh, and provide information on the local area over the past centuries, as well as the museum itself, of which the staff are very educated on. It's not a day out, but if you're spending some time in the park and the museum is open, it's well worth a peek inside for 15-20 minutes.

The museum has recently been completely refurbished and renewed now telling the story of the…read morerestored Priory. Old reviews before 2012 are out of dated now. Lovely building with very interesting story told of monks and their lives in a fascinating building. Well worth seeing.

Southchurch Hall and gardens have so much potential and could be a really special place…read more Unfortunately the gardens are too often full of people having one too many drinks, at times the rats are a little too obvious (used to be known locally as the Duck Park, now more commonly the Rat Park) and the water in the ponds is stagnant. Having said that the gardens are beautiful and fantastically maintained - I had my photos before my wedding taken there. The Hall can be used for weddings but only seats maybe 30 people. There is some interesting history and displays inside but again not used to full advantage - and not open many days. Do some excellent seasonal events there though e.g. Victorian Christmas days

Lovely setting hidden between the houses on Southchurch Road, you wouldn't even know it was there…read more A quiet park with a large duck pond although not that well kempt. The museum is a slice of history and weddings can be held here too. Southend Shakespeare often perform on the clearing in the summer - a must visit!

Known as the 5 minute museum to locals, you can spend an amazing ammount of time in here if you…read moretake time to look at the exhibits. Entry is free, and they rotate different exhibits all around the year, and even got some of the Saxon King finds on display when they were discovered. Also featuring a planetarium, (a small fee applies), this museum is a great day out, (or at least an hour), and the small collection of merchandise they stock is reasonably priced. Each exhibit has a information card by them so you can educate and entertain, and the staff will usually have some more information that wasn't placed on the card due to space reasons.

For Southend the building that hosts Southend Museum is the last of its kind in this key avenue…read moretowards the centre of the town. Fortunately listed so hopefully this status will protect it from development if plans afoot to build a new museum on the seafront go ahead. Ok as with most buildings circa 1900 they did not build in disabled access, so where it can be provided it is, but generally the building is large but inaccessible for wheelchairs. The collections have interest for local and visitor alike, Southend's geograpical position means it has been a focus for both World Wars and displays of Zeppelins, or WWII bomb damage is readily available. This museum too has taken on board the need to interact with it's audience so an activity room with plenty of touchy-feely, and try-out is available. Upstairs a planetarium provides views into the solar system. This museum might not have the wow factor, but it does have passionate staff who know their stuff, interesting displays, and the knowledge that the display areas are too small for the huge collection behind the scenes, hence the need for a new site. This review would not be complete without mention of the Saxon King finds recently discovered north of Priory Park, that reside currently in London, but until Southend can provide adequate secure premises for the significant collection then the town will not see them back. For those contmplating a visit to the museum, do so, It is free, provides a handy half an hour stop off on the way to the shops or on the way back, a great respite if the weather is bad, plus you could learn something.

This is an amazing 2 story museum with all kinds of artifacts from old wedgewood to Egypt's tomb…read moreand artifacts Teapots and tea cups old coins to everything in between. 2 nd floor loads of paintings to look at. Entry is free which is always a plus.

The Fitzwilliam Museum offers a well rounded and varied collection. It is sure to please most…read moremuseum visitors regardless of interests. If you're a fan of the work of Georges-Pierre Seurat, you're sure to enjoy the 1884 Neo-Impressionism painting, "The Couple" (original title: Un dimanche après-midi sur l'île de la Grande Jatte). Does it somehow look familiar? This was a study for A Sunday on the Island of la Grande Jatte! "This work is one of many that Georges-Pierre Seurat made in preparation for a much larger painting. The woman's stiff posture is accentuated by her tightly buttoned jacket and the exaggerated bustle of her skirt, which echoes the curve of her parasol. Given that the area of Paris depicted here was known for prostitution, it has been suggested that the woman is a sex worker on the arm of a male client." Give yourself several hours if you plan to take in the entire collection. If you are fortunate enough to live nearby and can visit often, take your time and you're sure to fall in love with one of the many wonderfully curated items found within the museum walls.

This place is fantastic for people of all ages and it's free which is even better. Did you know…read morethat the nursery rhymes humpty dumpty and twinkle twinkle little star are both from Colchester? Well you can find out why and much more at this museum - well worth a visit

A free museum and somewhere worth visiting. Not only are there lots of interesting artifacts but…read morethere are things the children and adults can play around with whilst learning about the local history.

This is fascinating Museum housed in original WOrld War II buildings on Parham Airfield, where…read moreAmerican Airmen were based during the war. There are a huge number of artefacts, and every time I go I manage to see and learn new things. The Museum is run by keen volunteers who are happy to guide you round or answer any questions. There is a nice little tearoom which also sells souvenirs and often has wartime music or films playing in it. There are sometimes sandwiches for sale, but no other meals, just snacks like crisps, sweets, biscuits. The souvernirs are VERY CHEAP- lots for under £1. There is also an underground bunker which is open during high season which has been built as an exact replica of one found recently a few miles away at Stratford St Andrew- you can walk through this and see how Britain's Secret Army lived and trained, with original memorabilia such as food and bomb making equipment housed in the bunker. This is very popular with the children, but the main WWII museum part is probably more suitable to adults due to the nature of the exhibits- lots of written displays etc. There are outside picnic tables which are lovely in summer but can get very windy due to the barren and flat surroundings. BEST OF ALL, ENTRANCE TO THE MUSEUM IS FREE- but the Museum does rely on donations to be able to survive. Do play the Museum a visit if you are going near to Framlingham- it is open Sundays March- September and Wednesdays in July and August and really does offer a lovely, informative and evocative morning or afternoon out.

The Brits plundered many fascinating archeological artifacts from around the world, and the…read moreBritish Museum displays some of the most famous, such as the Rosetta Stone. Admission: free Time budget: minimum 4 hours Free WiFi is available Plenty of clean bathrooms Caution: The museum has no air conditioning. I visited during a rare heat wave, and the museum was a sweat box. Also, if you don't like crowds, you won't like this museum. It gets packed early. Pre-opening tour: The museum offers for UK $35 various pre-opening tours. I took the Greece pre-opening tour. Pros: Small group of 20 before the unwashed masses crowd into the museum. Tour guides are knowledgable. Guides may offer extra time at no charge (e.g. 15-20 minutes extra). Cons: My tour guide did not enunciate or project his voice, so much of the tour was unintelligible.

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.

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.

Formerly the site of the Royal Observatory (from 1958-1990), the site is now run by a charity as a…read morevenue for exhibitions, lectures and educational programmes. The renovated telescopes can be visited by the public, for school visits, and are used by colleges and astronomical societies. It makes a great fun-but-educational family day out. Most people associate the Royal Observatory with Greenwich, where it was founded by Charles II in 1675. It was increasingly recognised that London was not a good location due to light and atmospheric pollution, and the effects of vibrations from rising road and rail traffic. Plans were made to relocate the observatory in the 1930s; transfer began to the new site at Herstmonceux in 1947 and was completed in 1958. The complex of buildings was constructed to house three reflecting and three refracting telescopes in six domes, of brick and concrete with green copper domes and balustraded balconies, with adjoining support buildings, all set around a central ornamental pond. These are themselves classic examples of 1950s architecture. The telescopes were joined in 1967 by the giant 98-inch Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) once housed in the silver dome to the south of the main complex. The UK was never an ideal site for astronomical observations because of the preponderance of cloud, and over time, increasing light pollution from Eastbourne. The growth of cheap air travel in the 1960s enabled astronomers to travel to parts of the world with clearer skies and in 1984 the INT telescope was moved to the Canary Islands. Eventually, the decision was taken to close the site and move the remaining staff to the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge. The site reopened in its current guise in 1995 and the site, including the telescopes, was refurbished in 2004. Visitors now enter through the eastern grounds of Herstmonceux Castle (itself now a college of Queen's College, Ontario). Car parking is available in a small car park but in summer most park on the lawn in front. The ticket office at the entrance houses a small shop with merchandise aimed at children and young people, covering a range of scientific subjects. Numbers are limited, so advanced booking is strongly recommended. There are guided tours of the telescopes (which take about half an hour) and separate science demonstrations. The site has both indoor and outdoor hands-on activities for children (of all ages!) covering aspects of science and engineering - a bit like a small hands-on science museum. We found the volunteer staff to be friendly and knowledgeable, and the sessions were very interactive for the children. We happily spent a couple of hours there. There is a small cafe on site, serving drinks and a limited range of snacks. The site is on several levels and has a lot of steps and gravel pathways, but there are ramps for level access and a disabled toilet: more details are on the main website. Children must be accompanied and supervised by an adult at all times, and dogs are not admitted (except assistance dogs). As well as being open for general visits, there are periodic stargazing evenings: numbers are also limited for these and need to be booked in advance.

This is such an interesting place to take the kids for some star-gazing. They are so good at…read morekeeping everyone's attention on the go (things like this can get a bit boring). There's so many different night and daytime events on offer here and a lot of them depend on weather and, of course the stars but we had a great night there and got to see so many beautiful sights. There's a fantastic shop to pop into at the end of the day with some really interesting and informative books to buy.