This is one of the best museums I've seen. There is so much there to see, so much history as well…read moreas modern art.There are areas to keep kids occupied where they can do various activities. Many of the displays in the Pump Rooms are interactive and there is a lot of visual and textual information. I would say that this kind of place would appeal to all sorts of different people, whether you like to interact or whether you prefer to just look at things, there is something there which will be of interest.My 6 year old particularly enjoyed the listening posts as well as the kid's area..The other thing which is good is that there is so much in one building. Art gallery, museum, library. There is also a small cafe and tourist information centre in the same building. The cafe is not too bad. I think it's a little over-priced, often crowded and doesn't offer a particularly wide choice.It's also free to get in which is always good!The one thing which disappointed me was that, when I looked for souvenirs in the tourist information centre, they were very over-priced and the prices weren't clearly displayed which meant that I had to tell my son he couldn't have something which I'd said he could have because it was a lot more expensive than we thought it was.Apart from that, though, the rest of the place is nice. Just don't buy anything from the tourist information centre!

The Art Gallery and Museum of Leamington Spa has numerous roles to take on.It explains the history…read moreof the Pump rooms and baths and explains why and how the victorians used them. However it is not just living in the past. With an extensive permanent art collection including a Lowry the gallery is a must for art lovers. There is also a temporary art collection with different shows on lasting for about three months. One of the most popular of these was the Open which allowed members of the public to submit their work in a competition witht he best best being displayed. Not only does the pump room cater to art lovers but it has lots of craft workshops for young children and adults and an interactive gallery for children to play in.

What an amazing place! We happened to see this museum as we…read morewere walking by and were intrigued by their moving signage. Inside there are plenty of machines that whir and perform small tasks or even make music. Lots of interactive things to see and do, buttons to push, pedals to press, even a magnetic marble track you can build yourself! It's a treat for young and old and definitely worth the small entry fee.

The opening hours are stated for October to March. Opening hours from April to September are a…read morelittle longer (10:30 to 18:30 daily). A friend recommended this place to me thinking that my boys would like it. My friend was right! We did all enjoy the interactive displays. The extent of the interactivity is mainly pressing a button though but it's still good. There is an interesting range of mechanical art and my boys and I were fascinated by the mechanisms. It is quite a small place. It cost £19 for the four of us (2 adults and 2 children) which isn't too bad but, considering we spent less than an hour in there and saw everything, it does seem a little expensive. There are two floors. One very small room on each floor displaying different pieces of art. It can get rather crowded due to the small size, especially downstairs where the entrance/exit is the same. In the same small area, there is a counter where there is a single member of staff who both admits people and serves the gift shop. The gift shop is basically a small portion of the wall within the ground floor of the museum. Many items are over-priced and the selection is very limited. We did enjoy ourselves there and would recommend it but it could get claustrophobic and the upstairs can be noisy (although it does state this on the signage).

It's a tourist-centric experience in a country full of castles that may offer a more…read morehistory-focused and much less expensive day out. £24 a ticket, no matter the age and then and additional £6 to park...regardless of the time of day. If you enter at 4PM you get an hour of the place for that price. Listen, the Falconer's Quest (birds of prey show) is enjoyable - but is that alone worth the cost? Maybe. I will leave it up to you.

Beautiful setting, loved the exhibits. I liked that the exhibits were not covered by decorations…read more You could actually see them. Friendly staff!! The cafe was wonderful!!! My first trip to the UK and it did not disappoint!!!

How fortunate the world is to have had Frank Whittle. It's really wonderful that this museum…read moreexists to capture the historic significance of Frank's ingenuity and perseverance for the turbine jet engine. Through so many disappointments and financial turmoil. He continued to push his ideas. What a wonderful documentary the film inside too. For aviation enthusiasts, this is a must!! Thank you for preserving and holding all of this legacy !!!

This privately-owned aviation museum is a too-little known "hidden" gem in Coventry. Staffed mostly…read moreby volunteers, with access to many cockpits and absolutely stuffed to the brim with aircraft (including many rare marques), memorabilia, design drawings, components and information, it's not to be missed by aviation enthusiasts. Had a fantastic day out.

A very friendly information service manned by some wonderful ladies. Plenty of tourist brochures…read morefor the whole of Warwickshire. You can even buy castle tickets here at the reduced rate of 18£ and avoid the ticket queue at the castle. There is a gift shop here that has much better souvenirs than the tacky stuff at "you know where" Do spend 15 minutes browsing through the town history display behind the information counters. Very well illustrated and a nice overview before you visit the town. There's a yeomanry museum in the basement that's free to visit. When I told the lady at the desk that we had read about the history of the building, she took us upstairs to show us the gorgeous ballroom that's hired out for weddings.

What a fun and tacky place! And I mean the good kind of tacky…read more I didn't visit the museum exhibition itself, but booked the Shakespeare tour and the ghost tour they offer. The Shakespeare tour was led by a chap dressed up as, obviously, Shakespeare. He was fun and knowledgeable and the tour through Stratford was top notch! Starting at the birthplace, ending at the grave site with lots of sights and anecdotes in between. The ghost tour leads through the museum at night, in the dark (which was brilliant, they only used two lanterns to light the way) and stories about supernatural things people may have experienced here as well as stories about people who lived and died here. There are no obvious tricks used during the tour, it's more like storytelling in the dark and was a lot of fun! Not super scary, but some visitors did seem quite shaken. I'd definitely recommend the tours they offer as both were great and more than worth the small fee.

I have to admit, I haven't read all of Shakespeare's works, but I've read enough in high school to…read moreknow who he is and appreciate his relevancy. Not to mention all the movie adaptations over the years. When coming to England, this is one of the places that you should stop by. Stratford Upon Avon is a charming city. Heck, it's where William Shakespeare was born. Just walking around the streets is enough to know why people would come here. But let me get to why you should go to Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust. It's the house where he was born. After you pay your fare and make your way into the museum, you have to go through a small series of movie theaters. As you progress through each one you're given bits and pieces of facts and history about Shakespeare from early life and his impact on the world. This is particularly useful if there are big crowds waiting to get in. Once you're done with the movie presentations you go into the house. You see how things used to be during his time. With the "actors" in period dress, they explain to you the rooms you're in, stories about the house, his family, and idioms that originate from his time. Here's an interesting bit: I used to wonder why little boys looked like little girls in all these old paintings from the 1500's-1600s. When you come here you'll find out. Or where the expression "Good night, sleep tight" comes from. Once you're done, there are bookstores dedicated to him and lots of little cafes and shops to spend the rest of the day at. Oh yeah, you can even make your way to the church where he is entombed. OUT DAMNED SPOT!

Being a lover of Shakespeare since high school, this place represents a pilgrimage for me. I've…read morevisited twice. Maybe I'm just more cynical, but the restoration of the property and the "period-style" furniture and other household items put me off the second time. Maybe the house wouldn't be exhibitable otherwise, but I like to see real history rather than a historian's recreated best guess. At least they don't lie to you like other places. I can't discourage anyone from visiting though. I mean--this was actually Shakespeare's house! Quaint garden in the back.

I don't think much of this museum. I thought maybe it was just my lack of interest in the subjects…read moreof war and history but my other half (who is obsessed with such things) was officially unimpressed as well. It's ok if you're doing it as part of a day out in Warwick because once you've been in about 10 minutes, you've seen and done everything. It's free to get in so it's something to do on a rainy day. The museum seems to be rather haphazard with no real order to anything. There are different soldier costumes which kids can try on and a computer on which they can find out about some people. While there is a fair bit of information, it's about people most of us would never have heard of and it's not presented in a particularly interesting way. It is a shame that the museum is so poor. The staff are so friendly and it's a large, beautiful building and it seems that much of the building is wasted. There had been rumours of a "discovery" room for young children but, if it's there, they've hidden it well. There are gift shops where you can buy pretty much the same stuff as any other gift shop and the only thing I wanted to buy was, typically, twice the price I would have been willing to pay.

I thought Lunt Fort would be really boring but was surprised when we actually managed to spend a…read morecouple of hours there. The staff are friendly and, despite the small size of the site, there were a few activities for kids in the Granary museum. When I took my boys (aged 9 and 4) they did a scavenger hunt looking for different things around the grounds. There was a small prize as a reward. The place cost only £7 for the whole family to get in with no hidden extras as all the activities were inclusive. I don't think it's somewhere you could have an entire day out but there are other things in the area such as Ryton Gardens and the Midland Air Museum so it's easy to combine activities.

This site is run by the City Council, and boy have they done well, making what is essentially a…read moreseries of old ditches interesting ish. The ditches are all that remain of the fort, which was once a Roman horse-training centre. Wooden structures show how the site 'may have looked', most impressive of which are the gate that you enter by and the old catapult, which is sadly not operational. There are also foundations of other strutures marked out in gravel. While it is commendable that the Council has gone to so much effort, I am at a bit of a loss at who this site is really aimed at. If you don't like history, there's nothing here for you. But if you have any interest in the Roman period, you have probably visited many far better sites. Which only really leaves the schoolkids - although I seem to remember my visit was the highlight of my primary school career!