We recently enjoyed a family day out to the Black Country Museum. Here’s our review of the trip. Find out what we thought of visiting the museum with children.
Things to see and do at Black Country Museum
The first attraction you come across is the drift mine. They run tours here all throughout the day. It’s so cool that you get to enter these mines and have a look around. However, we were unable to do this as children under five are not permitted in the mines at all. I’m also not sure how accessible this is! There is a small kiosk opposite serving snacks and drinks too.
Racecourse Colliery
You then enter the racecourse colliery, where you can see a real, live mineshaft and various engines. They also have a few houses here, which are all decorated inside to reflect the time.
There are also a few more houses and cottages nearby. These tell the story of some people that would’ve lived here. There are also pigs, chickens and horses to look at.
Play area
As you carry on along the museum, the next area comes to a small park with lots of places to sit down and an ice cream kiosk. We noticed on the map that there are fairground stalls here during Summer holidays. There is also a small play area located behind the trees. We almost didn’t see this as it’s quite hidden away!
Old Fashioned Pub and Shops
Then, you arrive at the Elephant and Castle pub, serving drinks and hot food at certain times. This was a favourite area for us on our visit. Nearby, there are many different shops that you can walk into all showing authentic items.
I have to say as well that the staff here are amazing and play their parts so well. Some of the shops you can find include the fish and chip shop (with the best chips I have ever had!!!), clothing stores, motorcycles, tobacconists and a radio store.
Situated at the end of the street is St James’ School – which has school lessons throughout the day. We were lucky enough to catch one and the teacher played the part excellently! Everything was set out so authentically and it was also very informative. You can also see a car garage behind the school. However this is not open but it’s great to look at. Opposite the school, is the bus stop that I mentioned previously.
Canal Boats
Then, you can cross over the Canal Street bridge, which takes you over the beautiful canals complete with all canal boats. If you walk back under this bridge along the canal side, you will be able to see the limekilns.
Bakery and Traditional Sweet Shop
Straight away, you can see the old fashioned bakery and the old fashioned sweet shop. This had so many yummy goodies.I honestly wanted to try them all!! The kids loved trying some old fashioned sweets and of course got gingerbread from the bakery.
Along the street, you will find other various shops that you can go into, to find more old-fashioned items. If you walk down the alleyways at the back of the shop you can see their gardens. My children found it fascinating and were horrified at how the toilets were also in the gardens! Some of the stores include a general store, a chemist and a greengrocer. There was also a police officer in his old-fashioned outfit, strolling the streets. He was complete with handcuffs and everything!
Horses
At the end of the street, there is another pub The Bottle & Glass Inn and the old chapel. There are stables next to this pub where you can find horses at certain times (when they are not strolling through the museum).
Black Country Museum Canal Boat Trips
In addition, there’s also another bridge out of the museum which takes you to the Dudley canal tunnel boat trips building. Here you can go on a canal boat through the narrow tunnels. However, it was an extra charge and it lasted 45 minutes so we decided not to do this.
Cottages and Cinema
Around the corner, from this, there’s another row of buildings where you can see more cottages. There are lots of old-fashioned street games to play here. We had so much fun, trying them all out. We were surprised to find that some are actually quite difficult!
There is also a nail making workshop here with live demonstrations throughout the day and The Limelight, an old-fashioned cinema, showing classics such as Charlie Chaplin.
Blacksmiths and Ironworkers
Then, there’s another bridge taking you over the canal to get up close with some of the canal boats. They also have other areas here such as the Blacksmiths, the Ironworkers Office, and a Chain Making Shop again where you can find live demonstrations.
During our visit to the Black Country Museum, a new section was being built and is due to open soon. So, we can’t wait to return to see the new areas!
Vintage Vehicles at Black Country Museum
As soon as you enter the site from the car park (which is charged at an additional £3.50 per vehicle for the whole day), you can see the motor garage and the vehicle sheds.
This houses various old-fashioned buses, cars, bikes and other vehicles. We later learned that some of the buses on show here are still actually working and drive up and down the hill. Helping to transport visitors from the top to the bottom of the museum. I think this was my son’s favourite part!!
This whole area before you enter the visitor centre is actually free to enter so anybody can come here just to look around the old vehicles!
We hope you have enjoyed this review and can visit Black Country Museum soon! Discover what other families thought of family days out across the UK in our Reviews and Recommendations section. Then, check out our Family Influencer Network too!
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