It's an interesting place, depending on your age and knowledge of space. Plenty of interactive…read moredisplays about various aspects of space: planets, stars, basic physics, and history. Be prepared for a lot of school children, and don't expect much when it comes to food or beverages. Just bring your own snacks. Parking is £3 for the day and the wifi is free.

Great museum with lots to see and do. My whole family loved it! Plenty of interactive things. Lots…read moreof school kids but they were all well mannered and polite. Clean, tidy and well maintained. Overall very interesting and highly recommended.

Great building..love it. This building, which dates back to…read more1390, has seen many incarnations. Originally built for the Guild of Corpus Christi, it was extended during the 1400's to include two halls. The Guildhall has been used as the town hall, city library, courtroom, school, and even a museum. The building's interior features exposed wood beams and an elaborate gilded coat of arms. Today, the city uses the structure as a performance venue. When it was a museum I was in there, on a winters day, alone. It has a long sweeping staircase and I started to walk down it saying (out loud) I care not for your fortune, my Lord. I shall never marry you for you are not worthy. etc. When I got to the bottom, standing silently, staring at me, was a school party! I smiles, said hello and rapidly left. Built in stages between the 14th and 16th centuries, the city's most prominent public building was Leicester's first town hall and contains one of the oldest libraries in Britain. It is one of the best preserved timber framed halls in the country, dating back six hundred years. The Guildhall has had many uses and lives. The Great Hall itself was built in about 1390 as a meeting place for the Guild of Corpus Christi (a small but powerful group of businessman and gentry). Over the next hundred years the Great Hall was extended and the two wings at either end added. By the end of the 14th century the corporation of Leicester had begun to meet in the Guildhall. When the Guild was dissolved in 1548 the Corporation bought the buildings for the sum of £25 15s 4d! In 1632 the Town Library was moved into the East Wing of the Guildhall from St Martin' s Church. It is the third oldest public library in the country. At about the same time the ground floor of the West Wing was refurbished as the Mayor's Parlour. The Great Hall was often used as a courtroom and a jury Room was created above the Mayor's Parlour. The Guildhall was also used regularly for theatrical performances, banquets and civic events. With the growth of the town and the expansion of local government functions in the 19th century it became increasingly clear that, as a town hall, the Guildhall was far too small. After much debate a new Town Hall was built on Horse Fair and opened in 1876. For the next fifty years the Guildhall was used for several purposes including the headquarters of the local police and a school. It became very dilapidated and there were even calls for its demolition as an eyesore! Fortunately, the council decided to restore the building and following a major renovation programme it was opened to the public as a museum in 1926. It is reputed that William Shakespeare appeared here. In recognition of this, the television company, Maya Vision, brought the Royal Shakespeare Company to perform at the Guildhall as part of its 2003 series for the BBC, 'In Search of Shakespeare,' written and narrated by the historian, Michael Wood. Part of the Shakespeare legend is that Shakespeare first came across the tale of King Leir whilst appearing at the Guildhall and this inspired him to write his own play King Lear. There is, however, no actual evidence to support this, although the legend of King Leir is often associated with Leicester. Today, The Guildhall is best known as an excellent performance venue, attracting acts from across the country, and as a museum where visitors can step back in time and come face to face with 'Crankie Gemmie' and 'Emma Smith', two of Leicester's notorious pick-pockets who can be found lurking within the Victorian police cells. The Guildhall is reputedly Leicester's most haunted building - five ghosts have been reported in total. Because of its reported hauntings, it has appeared on various TV programmes, most notably being investigated on Living TV's 'Most Haunted'. Derek Acorah and David Wells, immediately sensed the presence of Victorian era pick pockets, policemen and an 'evil presence' in the cell area. Footsteps were heard in the library roof space, two duelling men were sensed in the Great Hall and many of the crew felt sick in the area of the cells. Members of the public can also investigate the ghostly goings on at the Guildhall as it has become a popular place for several paranormal companies who hold overnight events there. The most frequent visitor is the White Lady, a name given to the phenomenon though she is very rarely seen. The ghost makes her presence known by moving the heavy Tudor furniture around the library and by opening doors once they have been locked and bolted. On numerous occasions, staff and police have been called out in the evening to attend to burglar alarms which have been triggered by an unseen presence. The White Lady also has a soft spot for the large Bible which is situated on the main table within the library. Staff will often close the Bible in the evening only to find that in the morning it is back open in exactly the same place as the night before. No one

The Guildhall is quite interesting in that it has been many things, the old town hall, a theatre, a…read moreschool and a police station!! There are lots of different bits you can explore including the cells and the haunted library! They put on lots of concerts and ghost hunts there and also you can get married there! Normally though, just to look around it's free to get in and they run lots of craft days for the kids. Something for everyone really, I only mark it down as disabled access isn't great for the top floors (not really their fault as it's such an old building) and there are not many displays to look at, apart from in the cells, it's all about the building!

Apart from the beautiful building and the setting of New Walk itself many a happy, relaxing hour…read morecan be spent here. New Walk Museum and Art Gallery is situated along the historic New Walk . In 1849 the Literary and Philosophical Society formally presented to the town its various collections, which have grown and developed over the last 150 years into one of the premier collections and museums in the Midlands spanning the natural and cultural world. The museum has a coffee shop, is a venue for a wide variety of musical performances and is even licensed to host wedding ceremonies. New Walk Museum has been the inspiration for many people including Lord Attenborough and Sir David Attenborough, who pursued their love of art and natural history as a result of spending their formative years as regular visitors to the galleries. Leicester's oldest museum. Permanent exhibitions include: Wild Space is an exhibition that investigates what we mean by the word 'biodiversity'. By looking at different species and the habitats in which they live we can see how vital they are to the well being of the planet. The Mighty Dinosaurs Walk in the footprints of giants and discover the awesome power of these fascinating creatures and their sea going cousins the plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs. Watch out for the mighty Rutland Dinosaur and the 'Barrow Kipper'. Leicestershire's Rocks Leicestershire stands over rocks of many different ages and types, some of which are 600 million years old. Discover Leicestershire's rocks and explore a wide variety of fossils and minerals. Ancient Egyptians Step back in time and explore a civilisation that has lasted for 3,000 years. Come face to face with ancient Egyptians and find out how they lived and died. Mummies, coffins, gods and treasures greet you in the darkened corners of the tunnels. World Arts The new World Arts gallery provides insights into the vast range of human creativity and skill which has gone into making and decorating objects across the world. 'Our World Through Art' displays a regularly changing selection from Leicester's permanent collections featuring artworks from the 16th to the 21st centuries. Showing the brightest and best of the permanent collection, key works range from powerful 20th-century artists such as Francis Bacon, Peter Doig and the Old Masters to new, vibrant works from African-Caribbean and South Asian artists. Plus changing temporary exhibitions. Well worth a visit when in Leicester.

The New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, located a short walk from Leicester train station (helpful…read moresigns will point you to it) is a small "mix & match" place which includes displays on archaeology (both dinosaurs and Egyptian history), nature and fine arts. Entry is FREE and photography is allowed. The best part is the natural history display, which is very nicely presented. The Egyptian artefacts will not impress more knowing visitors, and are of main interest only to kids. If you've ever been to a proper Egyptian mummy exhibition (like the one at the British Museum in London), you will almost certainly be disappointed by what Leicester has to offer. The art collection, I'm afraid, is small and almost entirely forgettable. Most of the few dozen paintings on show (in one single large gallery, plus a very minor "modern" art display in the adjacent room) are second-rate genre paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries. Though officially called "the Victorian collection", they had to fill up the space with some seventeenth century art as well, none of it remarkable. Only a handful (like about 4) paintings are minor works by major artists of their time, like Edmund Blair Leighton or Alfred Sisley. The rest are by mostly unfamiliar artists. The "modern" collection does have paintings by Stanley Spencer and L.S. Lowry, but only one each. My advice: If you're mobile, take the train to Birmingham, or even Derby, and visit their art galleries, which have more interesting works on show. Their collections are superior to this one - in the case of Birmingham Art Gallery, MUCH superior. The New Walk Museum is of interest to locals and kids (When I visited on a Tuesday it was overflowing with the small fry). Adults from farther away need not bother!

A museum of everyday life from prehistoric times to the 20th Century.Throughout the year there are…read morenumerous temporary exhibitions and special events. OPEN Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 5.00pm (not Bank Holidays). Last admission 4.45pm.

Not a great museum. A bit on the small side although there is a upstairs. It has a small,nice…read morepriced shop. It has toilets including disabled/baby change. In holidays and weekends there is a room upstairs with staff that help kids make craft things. The museum has no cafe but there are a few near by. The museum is not to far from a carpark or the town liberary.

Amazing small festival near Market Harborough. They don't give out the address so I can't be…read morespecific about where it is but be sure to look it up. A bit like Glastonbury only on a tiny scale. I reckon there was about 5000 people there, it was only £90 and everything is a lot lot easier than Glastonbury. The weather was beautiful which obviously helped but would have been good anywhere and there were loads of tents where you could shelter. There was a good selection of smaller artists, good DJ's and other acts. There was a massive 'Rio style' carnival Saturday night which paraded around the campsite and everyone got dressed up. I will definitely go back. 100% next year and think you should go too!

Hi ya, The place you are talking about is called Kelmarsh. I live nearby and wasn't sure what it…read morewas, but now I do. Sounds like it was fun, however, there was a lot of cars that were vandalised that were parked in the lanes over the 2 days, so worth bearing that in mind. Jo

A great museum set in the grounds of a Roman bath site with a massive Roman wall. The displays…read morecover prehistory, Roman, Saxon and Medieval Leicester. There are some great objects - the mosaics and wall paintings are unmissable, some of the best in the country. It is free to get in (so good in the school holidays!) and they hold regular special events. There is a free brochure you can pick up that lets you know when the events are so that's quite handy. They also hold an enquiry service so if you dig up any archaeology in your back garden you can take it in and get it identified!! The staff are always polite and friendly and will go out of their way to answer any questions you have. It looks like it could do with a bit of a refurbishment, but I guess they need the council to give them some money - but the displays are really good despite this. Toilets and museum are always clean and there is good disabled access (once you've gone all the way round the site and got in through the car park!)

I stopped in here while looking for another museum... I am terrible with directions. The staff in…read morehere were really friendly. They invited me to have a look around and directed me to the Guild Hall Museum that I originally set out to see. Like, many museums in the UK, Jewry Wall is open to the public and free of charge. The day I visited there was some sort of sword fighting demonstration taking place outside. I don't think I managed to see all the museum has to offer as I think I missed most of the ruins outside the main building. This museum focuses on the local history of Leicester. It doesn't take much time to go around and see everything - would recommend stopping by.

Cheeky Monkees provides the perfect environment for children to play and parents to stay. While…read moreyour children discover the hidden treasures of the play zones, you can enjoy the comfortable surroundings of the lower level 'Espresso Café' where you can enjoy a freshly ground coffee and read a magazine.The play area is big but not huge which i personally prefer as you are able to keep an eye on the kids without having to follow them. They also seem to limit the number of children that go in quite heavily as i have never found the play area packed out, so there is no packs of children knocking everyone over!! The food in the cafe is varied and reasonably priced, their cakes are devine, as well as their 'school style' cheesy chips, yuummmmm!

Our 7 year old son really enjoys it here, he can run about to his hearts content, the cafe is…read morewell-placed, the food is cooked onsite & is tasty! All in all, excellent value!

I have been researching my family history and when visiting the heritage centre i saw pictures of…read moremy grandparents in their school days :) I was interested to see the pictures of where they worked, and was able to read about old Rothwell traditions. I will definately be going back to see the changing exhibitions.

The centre is a lively community resource, ideally located as a gateway to the heritage of the…read morearea. We rely on our dedicated volunteers, who answer queries, steward the galleries, care for museum objects and make the centre the success it is. Currently the ground floor displays a heritage collection and the first floor galleries show the work of the county's artists and craftworkers The Rothwell Arts and Heritage Centre was founded by the Rothwell Market towns Initiative in 2004, sponsored by the Countryside Agency. The Arts and Heritage Centre is run by volunteers and has attracted funding from a variety of sources to purchase the site, develop the present building and provide additional facilities.