Milestones is located just outside the town centre and only a few minutes from Junction 6 of the…read moreM3. It is clearly sign posted and easily found. The museum is housed in a odern purpose built building that is looks deceptively small. It was opened in 2000, and still looks new. It is on two levels, well three but the middle level is just a cloakroom and offices I believe. The top floor (confusingly called Upper Ground) consists of the entrance lobby, toilets, gift shop and restaurant. The gift shop carries a wide range of products with a historical theme. These range from books to sweets and from toys to ornaments. The restaurant serves hot meals and snacks, and is moderatley sized. There are also a few tables in the entrance lobby where picnics can be eaten, as well as a picnic area outside. The main part of the museum is on the Lower Ground and this is accessed either by stairs of lift. The museum is fully accessible to the elderly or disable, and they even have their own electric chairs. However care should be take by those who have mobility problems as the streets are cobbled and in places there are tram tracks. The museum tells the story of how people lived and worked over the past 200 or so years. It is consists of several mock streets and buildings, along with real vehicles and other items. At the start of the museum you are given a personal audio guide and map. This provides commentary on all of the scenes and is a very good idea. It allows people to walk around at their own pace, even children, and deters them from just walking straight past exhibits. They are backed up by numerous films and display boards scattered around the exhibits. The tour starts in a mock up of an Taskers ironworks in Andover in the 18th century. It tells the story of how they made steam engines (not trains, but stationary engines and traction engines). From there the visitor walks out in to the High Street and can visit a saw mill, the station and all kinds of shops that would be found in a typical town at the end of the 19th or begining of the 20th centuries. For example there is a greengrocers, a co-op and even a working pub, where I was reliable informed you could by a pint of ale. Eventually the visitor goes through a time tunnel which takes them in to the 1930's or 40's. Again this is represented by rows of shops and vehicles of that era including a sweet shop where you could buy sweets of a bygone age. There are also two seperate areas for specialist collections and displays which don't fit into the main part of the museum. For example when I visited there was a display of how the home has changed over the decades since the 1920's. The final part of the museum is a mock up of the Thoneycroft factor which was a large employer in the area. This is a living history museum and there were several costumed interpreters walking around, who were more than willing to talki to visitors about the exhibits. Various activities for children are also arranged, such as dressing up in costumes, a victorian school lesson and as mentioned above buying sweets from the sweet shop. To be able to buy the sweets, the children had to have two old pennies and a ration card, just like in Granny's day! These were on sale at the entrance for 60p. The museum state that you need three hours to go round, well it took us three and a half hours, but could easily have taken more. This is a very good museum, well thought out and obviously designed with children in mind. If you plan to go, I can recommend it and would suggest arriving early and plan to spend the whole day there - you won't be disappointed.

I worked at this museum for a few months a while ago, and it's a good place to visit. It's in a…read morelovely modern building and has an excellent range of historical exhibits, all in a recreated street scene from the past. A wonderful idea for a museum, and it's been executed wonderfully staff are friendly, the exhibits are detailed and interesting, and the whole thing provides a fascinating insight into Basingstoke and Hampshire's past. Admission prices are pretty high, admittedly, but I think in this case they are justified for what is an excellent, interesting and very worthwhile place to visit.

This is a massive shop with a great variety of homewares. Very good prices. I was there on a…read moresaturday morning though and it was packed though I think it gets even more busy in the afternoon with car queuing to get into the car park for this and the other shops here. The aisles in the shop are a little narrow for the numbers of people visiting especially if they use trollies. The lady on the till even said it was a quiet day!

Dunelm Mill is fantastic!…read more In Swindon they have a massive shop over two floors, selling everything household-y from bedding to picture frames to curtain fabric and that plasticy fabric that you use as a wipe-clean tablecloth. It is like an Aladdin's cave full of lovely stuff to look at, and the prices are pretty good which means you can buy as well as look! Sometimes the wait to be served in the fabric department can be a bit tedious, but most of the time they are pretty efficient. There is a cafe and toilets on the upstairs floor, where they also have picture frames, paintings and ornamental things such as vases. There is a lift if you cant manage the stairs. A really great shop, I wish there was one a bit nearer Abingdon where I live!

If you want to go to Blooms Garden Centre how about making a day of it and looking round the Craft…read moreVillage attached. In the Craft Village there is a diverse range of craft outlets to look round. For the budding artist there are a couple of ceramic painting places where you can chose a plate or ornament and spend an hour or two happily painting away. There is a canvas printers, phtographers studio and sand art. There is also a butterfly house and a small kids soft play centre. If you fancy a break there is a cafe too so all in all the makings of a lovely day out.

This is a hidden gem in Swindon. It is situated at the back of a garden centre, just off of…read morejunction 16 of the M4 motorway. I would say that it is a brilliant place to take children for something different. There is a children's play area in the middle, where the children can play whilst you take a break and have a cup of coffee. All around the play area are small retail units, specialising in lots of different craft things. You could for example make a piece of pottery. Children could make a handprint. You can buy things like knitting wool and get advice on what you need. There is a photographers where you can have professional photos taken and there is also Butterfly world, where you can wander amongst lots of butterflies.

The Abingdon Museum is quite a quaint place - upstairs in a strange building opposite the market…read moresquare. There are permanent exhibits about the history of Abingdon (do you know about the bun throwing?) and the MG factory. More interesting are the changing - showcasing everything from different aspects of local history to arts and crafts both historical and modern. The museum isn't large, but they make space for a small cafe where you can get snacks and hot drinks, plus information on local tourist attractions. There are toys and games for kiddies, too, and they obviously play host to school groups on a regular basis. During the summer months you can go up to the roof (the museum is free, but there's a small charge for access to the roof) for an unparalleled view of Abingdon. Oh, and it's where they keep the wireless router for the town - so if you're out and about and want internet access then it's probably the best place to be.

Based in England's grandest free-standing town hall with an open ground floor, Abingdon Museum…read morehouses permanent collections as well as temporary exhibitions. The roof gives a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside, and is also the venue for Abingdon's traditional 'Bun Throwing' ceremonies to mark Royal occasions. One of our Abingdon team's top 5 cultural venues.

Really glad we made the effort to walk the 5 mins out of town to this Gallery. It was preparing to…read moreshow an exhibition with 3 artists, all specialising in using recycled materials in their pictures and pieces. It was really interesting. There are two rooms downstairs full of interesting pieces and another area upstairs, the lady who runs it was lovely, very chatty but knowledgable too. We bought a special edition print for £50 which we love. Recommend this gallery for individual art.

In the old part of the shopping centre hidden away beyond iceland, cargo often seems to be…read moreoverlooked! Selling a good range of homeware it is a nice place to potter about and look at things for your home or your imaginary ideal home!! In the doorway they always have a nice range of cards ideal if you need an arty all occassion card in a hurry! They sell quite a bit of heavy wood furniture, and fabulous glasses and candles to adorn it with! It is a lovely store where you can get some great home furnishing ideas, the staff are always keen to give their ideas to. My criticism is they need to clean the store and polish the furniture!!

If your looking for secondhand clothes this charity shop located on the High Street in Basingstoke…read morehas a wide range of items. As with all charity shops you have bric a brac and music, videos. Nice selection of books to the rear of the store. This particular store is always busy and sometimes can be pricey but all for a great cause. Staff are all very helpfull and polite, have a potter about, i always do..

This wonderful shop is the best charity shop I have ever been to, particularly for books. The range…read moreof books they have on offer is amazing, with some really rare old books and even some first editions, and prices are really low. They also have loads of CDs, clothes, DVDs, board games, and lots of other stuff. Staff are sweet bit slow, but what do you expect? This is a charity shop, after all and there is always a good selection of things to buy. Even better, you're helping the environment by reusing things that might otherwise be thrown away. What more reason do you need?!

Most people, when visiting Avebury, just go to see the prehistoric standing stones and then leave…read more This is a pity, as there is a lot more of this tiny village than the (admittedly UNESCO world heritage) standing stones. Just outside the stones, behind the church, is Avebury Manor. This comprises the Manor house itself, the surrounding gardens, a Dovecote, the Alexander Keiller museum (separate charge) and a 17th century barn and a former farmyard block. The manor house was built in the early 16th century, with later additions. Like the stone circle, these are all in the care of the National Trust. The rooms in the manor house were restored a decade or so ago, as part of a television series produced by the BBC, called "The Manor Reborn". Each of the rooms is decorated and furnished with restored or re-created furniture, to reflect a different period in the life of the house. There is a Tudor dining room and bedroom; the Queen Anne bedroom (she reputedly stayed here); a Georgian styled dining room; the early 20th century billiard room, library and kitchen; and the 1930s lounge. The lounge reflects the period when it was home to the wealthy archaeologist Alexander Keiller, who was responsible for the excavation and restoration of the stones in the 1930s. Unlike many properties run by the National Trust, Avebury Manor encourages a hands-on experience - you can sit on and touch the furniture, play billions on the billiard table, and generally enjoy being in the house. We found this a very refreshing change, enhance by the really lovely volunteer staff on hand. We could not have been made more welcome. Afterwards, do not miss the gardens, the formal garden, kitchen garden and topiary garden are all charming and afford some lovely photographic opportunities. Our only disappointment was the museum (we are members, so did not have to pay, but it is charged separately from the house). We found this a bit disappointing, although it does include the story of the restoration of the stones and there are some archaeological finds exhibited. Afterwards, don't miss going in the barn, which houses a veteran touring car. We visited the café (in the farmyard buildings) afterwards, and had a very nice orange and poppyseed cake and chocolate brownie with tea. I personally find that that National Trust cafés can be a little bit hit and miss, but this one was a hit largely because of the very charming staff. There is parking for those with disabled badges in the village, about a five minute walk from Avebury Manor itself. For everyone else, the main car park is situated about half a mile away, on the A4361 road between Beckhampton and Avebury.

Gorgeous surroundings and relaxed atmosphere. Very spiritual place. We went to the café/restaurant…read morewhich was nice, but the manager was very cold to us and spoke down to his staff (I presume he was as he was the manager as he was the only one not in uniform) The barn was great and a lovely walk through the gardens. Fantastic location. Thoroughly recommend.