Believe it or Not Museum in London with a double rainbow by Tom Raftery

A few museums worth mentioning for their curiosity value is the Mental Health Museum, the Museum of Witchcraft and the Dog Collar Museum. In addition, museums like the Pitt Rivers Museum and Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum must surely house some of the strangest museum collections in the country.

The importance of the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford cannot be emphasized too much. This is a museum that contains a variety of curiosities, many of which would appear strange to our modern eyes. Oxford has been a centre of culture and education for centuries and has collected a wide range of anthropological and archaeological artefacts which the museum now contains. The museum focuses on how people all over the world have treated their bodies, from make-up, cosmetics and scents to tattoos and body painting. The museum also discusses the stuffing of dead animals and why and how it is performed.

It is a good idea to plan a stay overnight in Oxford as the place has much more to offer than just the museum. Oxford is home to some of the most beautiful architecture in Britain, as well as beautiful scenery in surrounding Oxfordshire. Hotels to stay in charming Oxford can be easily found for all budgets. There is good dining and convivial atmosphere here, throughout the year.

Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, UK by Jorge Royan / https://www.royan.com.ar / CC-BY-SA-3.0

It is a three hour drive from Oxford to Blackpool, where Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum is located. The museum specialises in outlandish artefacts and contains some extraordinary stories of people and events that surprise every visitor. One of the new exhibits is a wax model of a man called Eric Sparague who tattooed his entire body with green scales, sharpened his teeth and split his tongue in order to resemble a lizard. But this museum isn’t just about weird things; it is also about human creativity and dedication.

After tiring yourself out seeing the amazing and bizarre exhibits, like the two headed calf, the fertility statue, the portrait of Princess Diana made out of pennies, the floating tap, the tallest man in the world, and similar other curiosities, book into a Blackpool seaside hotel, because there is a lot more to do in Blackpool. There is a good zoo, a pleasure garden, a winter garden and the country’s sole surviving tramway! And then again, one can always go back to Ripley’s museum for a second dose of strangeness.

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But a Royal Mile is not just a set of streets, rather a multitude of tourist attractions, many of which are true treasures of Scottish history. And, a must see places for any visitor.

Museums, historic buildings, statues and more make the Royal Mile such a desired place for any tourist to go to.

Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, UK by Boon Low

Below I list 6 of the must see museums of the Royal Mile.

The Peoples Story Museum

The Peoples Story Museum is a celebration of the lives of the people of Edinburgh in the 18th century. Located beside the historic Cannongate the museum, through various expositions showcases the everyday lives of the citizens of Edinburgh. You can visit a recreated bookbinders workshop, kitchen, see a classroom and a creche from those times, a traditional living room and more.

What’s really fascinating about the museum is the detail in which everything has been recreated. Sometimes when wandering between various exhibitions you can really feel as if you were there, in those times.

Location: 163 Canongate, Royal Mile

Writers’ Museum

A museum dedicated to the work of Scotland’s great literature figures. The museum features an exciting collection of manuscripts, publications, first editions and even portraits of famous Scottish writers.

Location: Lady Stair’s House, Lawnmarket

Mary King’s Close

A museum not for the faint of heart. This 1600s built network of underground streets and passages is one of the darkest secrets of the city. Various tales surround the close, some saying that this has been the place where the sick where brought in to die during the great plaque of 1600s. Others claim that the place is haunted. All in all, it is not a place for the faint of heart.

Location: 2 Warriston’s Close, Edinburgh

Museum of Childhood

This is a place where you can feel a child again. Located MK of the Royal Mile, the Museum of Childhood is filled with toys from the past. Discover what children used to play with MK years ago, and perhaps even find the kind of toys that you used to play with as a child (I did!).

Location: 42 High Street

Museum of Edinburgh

If you want to discover the history of the city and find out how it develop over the years, then you must head down to the Museum of Edinburgh.

As the name suggests, this museum is all about the city. View old plans, artifacts, glassware and more.

Location: 142 Canongate

Our Dynamic Earth

Probably the most exciting of all museums on the Royal Mile, Our Dynamic Earth is a fully interactive museum presenting the history of our planet, from it’s formation to today and beyond.

Go back in time to witness the beginning of the universe and slowly move through times with this set of interactive displays and presentations. The museum also features two cinema shows, one in total 3D (and it’s great!).

Location: Very end of the Royal Mile, right at the Palace of the Holyrood.

About the Author: Thomas is a travel writer and accommodation specialist working for Staycity Edinburgh, the leading serviced apartments provider in the city.

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Pollock’s Toy Museum

If you are visiting London with your children, Pollock’s Toy Museum is certain to be a top attraction for you and your family. Practically any toy that has been on the market for children worldwide has a place at this site. The collections are a fascinating look at the ways kids played in the past. Come to experience a world of porcelain dolls, teddy bears, tinkertoys, board games and more. Elaborate dollhouses and toy theaters also are on display for the littlest ones in your party to explore.

Pollock’s Toy Museum, London, UK by R Sones

Freud Museum

This site was the home of Sigmund Freud after he and his family fled Austria and the Nazis in the late 1930s. Here is where you can see perhaps the world’s most famous analyst couch with its pillows and tapestries. You also can see the desk where Freud spent much time writing his papers. The family’s extensive collection of antiquities also is on display, and the ground’s gardens are worth checking out, too. The house and its furnishings are frozen in Freud’s time.

Whitechapel Bell Foundry

Lots of British and global manufacturing history can be found here, as the site exists as Britain’s oldest continuing manufacturer. Here, you can find church bells, handbells, clock tower bells (think Big Ben) and other varieties made to order. The company’s rich history extends across the pond, as the U.S. Liberty Bell was cast at the site more than 250 years ago.

Churchill War Rooms

Part of the collection that makes up Britain’s Imperial War Museum, this is the wartime bunker where British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his government officials took shelter during the London Blitz. You can see where wartime decisions were made and purchase a Churchill coffee mug in the same visit. The Map Room holds maps where you can see tiny pinholes that charted Allied progress. Next to that room is Churchill’s Room, still in existence from its time as his office/bedroom space.

The Black Museum

Better known as the crime museum, this infamous site offers a collection from London’s macabre side. In 1869, a new law allowed law enforcement to start keeping artifacts from criminals for educational purposes. Today, the museum holds weapons disguised as ordinary items, vials of poison, forensic photos and other criminal evidentiary items. The museum, while not open to the public, is open for law-enforcement training and crime lectures for legal authorities. If you are a law-enforcement official, you may be able to gain entry for a tour.

You find more London travel guides online and also accommodation in London from www.holiday-velvet.com.

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She was carrying 2,224 passengers and crew, but after sinking there were only an estimated 705 survivors.

The short life of the magnificent ship began in 1909 when construction began at the shipyard in Belfast. As the birthplace of the fated vessel, Belfast is home to one of the finest museums dedicated to the liner in the world.

Titanic Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK by Titanic Belfast

Titanic Belfast Visitor Experience

The building itself is a work of art as an artistic impression of four ships hulls towering 90 feet high. It’s the world’s largest attraction dedicated to the Titanic, the main exhibition taking up 11,000 square metres of space.

The façade of the building has a dynamic appearance, covered in thousands of 3D aluminium plates that, especially on a sunny day, are spectacularly enhanced by the surrounding reflective pools. It is situated just 100 yards from where Titanic’s hull was first launched. With the help of the ship building the Northern Irish city enjoyed its greatest economic boom of the 20th century.

As soon as you enter the vast exhibition you see everything from the early beginnings when the liner was just an idea to its tragic end in 1912.

The Launch

On 31 May 1911 Titanic was launched, watched by an adoring crowd of around 100,000 people. At the centre you can stand at a window and look down the slipway where Titanic once sat. State of the art technology means that you can flick a switch and as if my magic you will see the ship resting on the slipway.

The Wreckage

Titanic lies 13,000 feet below the waves in the North Atlantic, but thanks to the tireless work of oceanographers you can walk through a detailed gallery of the amazing images and footage that have been collected over the years, as the ship every day becomes more a part of the seabed.

Legendary Tales

Few stories have received as much attention in story and film as the Titanic. There’s a gallery that shows just how much it has features in pop culture. Can you tell the difference between fact and fiction?Check out the posters and paraphernalia to see how much you really know about the legend.

You mustn’t miss this, and it’s an easy trip from any centrally located hotel in Belfast, and I’m sure you won’t be far from some knowledgeable people who can help you get there.

It’s the greatest maritime story in the world and Titanic Belfast is a fitting testament.

Catherine Halsey writes for a digital marketing agency on a range of subjects. This article links back to https://www.parkinn.co.uk/hotel-belfast

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Royal Museum, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK by subberculture

In Edinburgh, museum-goers are spoilt for choice with a wide selection from aviation to xylophones. To make things a little easier, here are four of the best the city has to offer…

The National Museum

It’s probably a good idea to set aside the whole day for this one. 20,000 exhibits across 36 galleries cover everything from science and technology to world cultures and art. This impressive collection includes the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, the mummified body of 3,000 year old ancient Egyptian Iufenamun, and specimens collected by evolutionary theorist, Charles Darwin. The National Museum even has its own Scotland gallery, dedicated to centuries of the country’s history and showing how life today is shaped by events of the past. Aptly located in the middle of Edinburgh’s historic Old Town, the museum is close to the city’s main train link. Entry is free and it’s open daily from 10am to 5pm.

Museum of Childhood

Take a trip down memory lane in the Museum of Childhood – the first museum in the world dedicated to the history of our youth. Filled with a nostalgic array of toys, books, games and more, it is more than just a collection of objects to play with; the galleries aim to explore all aspects of growing up, using interactive exhibits to spark creativity and learning. Computer games demonstrate how life has evolved since the late 20^th century, while teddy bears, trains and pedal cars remind us how certain things will always be a part of our childhood. Entry to the exhibition is free, but donations are welcome and well worth it for a theme so close to our hearts. The Museum of Childhood is open Monday – Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday 12pm to 5pm.

Our Dynamic Earth

Ever wondered what it’s like to stand in a tropical rainforest, with the sticky heat on your face and the sound of animals around you? Wonder no more at Dynamic Earth, the museum that transports you around the world in a range of interactive exhibits. Come face-to-face with extinct dinosaurs, dive to the bottom of the sea and feel the earth shaking under your feet as you explore the past, present and predicted future of our planet. Although entry is payable, tickets are very reasonable at only £11.50 for an adult, £7.50 for a child, and children under the age of 3 go free!

The People’s Story Museum

Step into the Scotland of the past at The People’s Story Museum, located on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Dedicated to the lives of the city’s working class from the 18^th century to the present, the galleries are filled with everyday objects, photos and treasures that create an intricate story to be explored by all. Learn about important trades like printing, brewing and biscuit making, compare home wares of yesteryear to the modern objects we use today, and observe waxwork scenes that bring the exhibitions to life in a dramatic and very real way.

If you live in Edinburgh but haven’t taken advantage of these great museums, why not make a plan for the next rainy day? For those visiting from elsewhere, there are plenty of hotels and serviced apartments within range of the city’s fantastic array of attractions.

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Tate Modern, London, UK by Hans Peter Schaefer

Tate Modern Museum

The Tate Modern is located at the banks of the Thames River. It is Britain’s national museum of contemporary and modern art. The exterior of the structure is unique because the building was previously a power station. Inside the museum, you will find modern artworks and older masterpieces that are on temporary display.

You can see exhibits for free that feature Matisse, Cezanne, Dali, Picasso, Warhol, Hirst and Pollock among others. This coming October, you can view an exhibit that features Aldo Tambellini’s revolutionary artworks that include paintings, video, sound, slide and film projections. Tambellini’s artworks focus on political change in a creative way.

Official website of Tate Modern

Guts For Garters

Guts For Garters, located at Cob Gallery on 205 Royal College Street, offers something unique to its visitors. This innovative artistic concept integrates a shop, art exhibit and even clothes and furniture in its inventory. Typically, management arranges an exhibit based on a theme with each artist, item and designers working to create a cohesive environment. Exhibits usually instigate debate and out-of-the-box concepts that might make new visitors to the museum question their choice of exhibitions.

Themes like “Sex and Death” and artworks created with real human blood make this museum stand out from other artistic venues. Currently, Guts and Garters is planning an installment on August 17 to 19 with Cathie Pilkington called Traces. The exhibit will include commissioned objects like fabrics, furniture, jewelry and food. The exhibit, which will be located at an old Victorian building, will also feature illustrations, sound and digital art.

Official website of Guts For Garters

Royal Academy Of Arts

This museum was founded in 1768 and is one of the oldest museums on London. On permanent exhibit are some of the works of Michelangelo and personal items of Queen Victoria. To get to the venue, you have to walk through the gates of Piccadilly to get to the Annenberg Courtyard where you will find the entryway to the Royal Academy Of Arts.

You will find current exhibits featuring works from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The show includes artworks from 19th century France that focus mainly on Impressionism. You can also view weird, wacky and wonderful architectural works of art. The Kings Artists is also being featured at the museum till October. The show features anything and everything about King George III and Queen Charlotte.

Official website of Royal Academy Of Arts

Royal Academy of Arts in Burlington House, London, UK by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)

Visiting the top London Art Galleries will allow you to appreciate what Britain is all about. What better way to absorb the culture and history of this country than to see a comprehensive collection of artworks in London’s best art museums and galleries.

This article was written on behalf of the Connaught hotel who specialise in providing the some of the best afternoon tea in London.

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Hall of Steel, Leeds / Paul8032

The view provided by the display, encompassing every floor of the armoury, overlooks the city of Leeds, Clarence Dock, and the Air/Clader navigation canal. It is a very different world from the one in which those swords were used. Conflict happens on a supposedly more sophisticated level thousands of miles away from us, out of sight and shamefully, out of many of our minds.  Our cities are no longer the fortresses they once were but rather places we come for excitement and pleasure.

We see those swords, one after the other, over 2,500 pieces of steel, and we can attempt to imagine the masses of armoured soldiers marching across the very lands we amble along with our friends. We walk those hills breathing in the fresh air, exercising our bodies that sit in front of computers, and anticipating a warm pub meal afterwards as a reward. The weight of our backpack in which we carry a couple of water bottles is nothing compared to the weight of armour those soldiers had to carry and the sense of dread and fear that could have been lurking at every turn.

We stand and stare at the largest mass display of arms and armour since the 19th century. Armour from as early as the 1600’s, and military equipment from the 1800’s. The display is beautiful, but is also sad. One wonders how much blood has been shed by the seemingly endless display of swords mounted all around. What were the emotions running through the hearts of those who held them? Fear? Anger? Exhilaration? Did those swords make those men feel powerful, or vulnerable? I suspect each sword has several stories to tell, stories we try and tell through fiction, but stories we will never really know.

The Hall of Steel sets distinguishes the Royal Armoury from other museums. One feels as though they have stumbled into a mass grave, or at best, a memorial or tribute. The men who held those swords are all dead, but we remain, wondering what it was really like. War and conflict are things we still have not managed to abolish and avoid. We are reminded that what was such a reality for them is still our reality today.

We know it’s wrong but we are fascinated by violence. We know it should not result in hurting people, but we long for something to pour lives into. We sense a thrill in risk, which compels us to jump from airplanes and hang from bungee cords. It is with great fascination that we pour over the actual weapons, armour, and equipment used throughout history, knowing that much of what has happened in the past has resulted in where we are today.

The Royal armoury has a way of satisfying our curiosity about the armour, displaying it for us to wonder about and admire, but amidst all the displays, informational videos, and artwork, the Hall of Steel stops us in our tracks and challenges us to consider the realities of war. It asks us questions we most likely don’t know the answer to, filling us with conflicting emotions of awe, admiration, pride, but also sadness, horror, and doubt.

Robert Goodwood writes historical articles on behalf of Hello Yorkshire.

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1. London Transport Museum

For centuries, Londoners have traversed their city by boat, by road, by rail and, of course, underground. Immerse yourself in a journey through those centuries at the London Transport Museum, where amazing exhibits tell the city’s travel stories. Here you’ll find a sedan chair, dating from 1800, which was London’s first licensed public transport and a horse-drawn omnibus, models of the boats that once sailed across and up and down the Thames, steam engines and railway coaches. Not simply a museum for boys of all ages, the London Transport Museum is living history with amusing anecdotal displays, and examples of the innovations in transport that transformed London life. The museum is in the Covent Garden Piazza.

London Transport Museum / Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Loz Pycock

2. Freud Museum

In 1938, Sigmund Freud, regarded as the father of psychoanalysis, fled his Vienna home from the Nazis and went into exile in London with his family. Today, his Hampstead residence provides a fascinating glimpse into his life with his study, complete with couch, preserved as it was during his lifetime. There are more than 2,000 antiquities of Greek, Roman, Oriental and Egyptian origin to examine, while an upstairs room is devoted to his daughter, Anna, who lived and worked here until she died in 1982.

3. Fashion and Textile Museum

Iconic designer Zandra Rhodes founded the Fashion and Textile Museum to showcase London’s contemporary fashion, textiles and jewellery. Its exhibitions change regularly, although there is a permanent display of Rhodes’ creations. The museum – run by Newham College – also offers courses for students and acts as a network for the fashion and jewellery industries. Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta designed the museum building, which is situated in Bermondsey, south London.

4. Handel House Museum

From 1723 until his death in 1759, the composer George Handel lived at 25 Brook Street, London. Here, he composed some of his finest works – and indeed some of the greatest and most recognisable music in history – including Music for the Royal Fireworks, Messiah and Zadok the Priest (you might know it better as the theme for football’s Champions League!). The beautifully restored Georgian interior reflects Handel’s era while weekly concerts and special events bring live music back to this historic house – the upstairs rooms were once home to rock legend Jimi Hendrix.

5. Trinity Buoy Wharf and the Faraday Museum 

On the banks of the Thames, Trinity Buoy Wharf was once the site at which all buoys and markers for England’s coast were made and repaired. Its lighthouse is the only one in London and, along with the rest of the Grade II-listed warehouses on the site, has been restored to become part of a creative community that includes artists’ studios and London’s smallest museum, the Faraday Project. This little hut is dedicated to the scientist Michael Faraday, who conducted experiments into electric lighting in the lighthouse in 1863.

This article was brought to you by one of the top luxury hotels in London, Claridge’s – who have been a fixture in the UK’s capital city for well over 100 years.

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National Railway Museum, York, UK / Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by EmPemm

History of the NRM

Britain’s railway network began connecting its new industrial hubs in the mid/late 19th century, and as the network became more widely used, railway companies began to preserve their history. The first notable example was the Patent Office Museum in London acquiring the original Rocket steam engine in 1862.

In the 1920s, the Big Four railway operators – Great Western Railway, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, the London and North Eastern Railway and the Southern Railway – had gathered a large quantity of memorabilia, and in 1927 the LNER opened a railway-dedicated public museum in York. With the nationalisation of the railways in 1948 the collections of all four operators were brought under one roof.

The museum’s current location, a stone’s throw away from the platforms at York Railway Station and 700m from the Minster, was opened in 1975, and was the first national museum outside of London. Since then, the expansion of the museum in 1990 earned it the Museum of the Year Award, while the launch of the Institute of Railway Studies in association with the University of York developed its academic credentials. Recently the NRM added Search Engine, an archive and research centre, to its already impressive list of resources.

This Year’s Festivities

The festival runs from June 2nd-11th, and from 9.30am – 5.30pm daily. Included in the festivities is a massive public space full of trains covering a space the size of eleven football pitches, and includes retired speed-engine legends like the Flying Scotsman, Class 395, East Coast 91110 and Tornado. The NRM has worked on exhibits for novice train lovers, and fans of Chuggington who can pick up a special book and find the original vehicles their favourite trains are based on.

For the more seasoned aficionados, there are daily talks from members of the industry, film screenings and modern industry demos to keep you up to date on all the developments from within the world of railways. Also in attendance will be poet Ian McMillan, cartoonist Tony Husband and magician Ollie Mealing.

How to Get There

If you’re travelling by rail, it couldn’t be simpler. Just look up some cheap trains to York, hop off at York station and follow the signs! Ticket holders to Railfest can also get money off their next ticket booked through festival partners redspottedhanky. If you’re coming from slightly closer nearby, the museum is just a ten minute walk from York’s city centre, or the Green Line 2 bus picks up and drops off from right outside the museum.

If trains are your passion, there is no better place to be next month than the National Railway Museum in York. All aboard!

Catherine Halsey is based in Edinburgh and writes for a digital marketing agency. This article links back to https://www.redspottedhanky.com/trains/trains-to/york/.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Maxwell Hamilton

Chertsey Abbey

Chertsey was built around this abbey and was founded in 666 AD by the Bishop of London of the time. It grew to become of the largest Benedictine abbeys in England. It was rebuilt in 1110 after it was destroyed by the Danes. The building was completely destroyed after 1537 with the bricks being used to make other buildings. The monument is an intriguing historical site despite the lack of the original abbey.

Mercedes Benz World

This is one for all you petrol heads out there. An opportunity to get up close and personal with a plethora of vintage and current models form the luxury car making firm. Visitors over 1.5m tall can take advantage of a track driving experience which is guaranteed to thrill. Even the tinier members of the family can experience a Mercedes with a mini electric race track available. Once hunger calls, have a bite in the Gull Wing cafe which conveniently looks over the main race track. At the end of the day you can take home a souvenir model of a variety of Mercedes cars. Located in Weybridge, it’s a very short drive from Thorpe Park.

Great Cockcrow Railway

Following on from the transport theme, a trip on the Cockcrow Miniature Railway is a must for anyone visiting the area. It’s a 7 ¼ gauge railway and one of the most extensive of its kind. There are two routes you can take, a red route and a green route. Both are 1 mile long and pass through the most breath taking scenery. The Green route makes a stop at Cockcrow Hill for the engine to be turned around. Each route has its own queue designated by the relevant colour so you know which trip you are going on.

Photo by cockcrow.co.uk

Chertsey Museum

The Museum is situated in the centre of Chertsey in the Borough of Runnymead. The museum houses the Oliver Matthews Dress and Textiles Collection which highlights the various stages of British fashion, a history that extends over the last 300 years. Children under 5 years old can come along and meet Charlie the Chimp on the third Friday of every month. Parents are encouraged to participate with their youngsters. The charge is only £4.50 with siblings under 1 admitted for free.

Brooklands Museum

This is a must see. Brooklands was the first motor racing circuit in the world and widely acknowledged as the birth place of aviation. There is so much to see so make sure your digital camera is on full charge. Once here visitors can explore over 30 different aircraft which are housed in the museum and stand back in awe at one of the last remaining Concords on display. There are a multitude of models of all types to see. The museum is just a stone’s throw away from Thorpe Park so don’t miss out!

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by dodge challenger1

This list of things to do (besides go to Thorpe Park) was written by Thorpe Breaks; offering you exclusive deals on all Thorpe breaks hotels and tickets.

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