SCHOOL’S out for summer – and so is every family, it seems. But while the big attractions may be sold out, or require hours of queuing, that isn’t true of all potential away days.
From checking out lawnmowers of the rich and famous, to sizing up the UK’s smallest house, there are plenty of quirky places to visit without the crush of the crowds. Lee Price picks ten of the best…
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TEAPOT ISLAND: This odd exhibition in Yalding, Kent, contains a collection of more than 8,400 teapots.
You can buy rare ones and paint your own to take away. It also includes a cafe, which serves tea, presumably. See teapotisland.co.uk.
CHAIR COLLECTION: The Wycombe Museum, Bucks, boasts a chair and furniture collection — a homage to High Wycombe’s 200 years of furniture manufacture.
Plenty of seating available. See wycombemuseum.org.uk.
STREET OF SHOPS: Why go to the high street when you can go to Milton Keynes Museum’s unusual “street of shops”?
As well as a collection of historic store fronts, the venue also has display cabinets — including a Jacob & Co biscuit tin unit. See miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk
THE NATIONAL GAS MUSEUM: Set in the former gatehouse of a Leicester gasworks, it claims to have the “world’s biggest collection of gas-related artefacts”.
The museum tells the story of the industry, from grimy gasworks in Victorian times to a 1920s kitchen full of appliances. See nationalgasmuseum.org.uk.
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SMALLEST HOUSE IN BRITAIN: Located in Conwy, North Wales, this tiny house was created in the 16th Century.
The property, measuring 10ft high, 10ft deep and 6ft wide deep, remained in use until 1900, when the local council declared it uninhabitable. Visit and see if you agree. See thesmallesthouse.co.uk.
PENNY FARTHING MUSEUM: Cheshire’s Courtyard Coffee House, Knutsford, doubles as a draw for penny farthing fans.
As its website explains: “Our passion for exquisite all-day breakfast and homemade cakes is only matched by our affection for the penny farthing.”
The collection is of the giant, impractical bikes, rather than the coins it was named after. See thecourtyardknutsford.co.uk.
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SHOE MUSEUM: Northampton Museum houses one of world’s largest footwear collections and has been designated by Arts Council England as of international significance.
It has shoes from ancient Egypt. See northamptonmuseums.com.
BRITISH LAWNMOWER MUSEUM: This summer it has put on a Lawnmowers of the Rich and Famous exhibition.
Items on display include mowers owned by Princess Diana, Brian May, and Paul O’Grady.
Great for a day out in Southport, Merseyside. See lawnmowerworld.co.uk
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DERWENT PENCIL MUSEUM: The website boasts that this attraction is the “home of the world’s first pencil”.
Also out on display at the museum in Keswick, Cumbria, are “secret” World War Two pencils, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee pencil, and one of the largest colour pencils in the world — measuring eight metres. See bit.ly/3aYQhbJ.
TOILET MUSEUM: While hordes of families will be descending on Staffordshire to visit nearby Alton Towers, you can go to a toilet museum instead.
The Gladstone Pottery Museum in Stoke features an exhibition of lavatories named Flushed With Pride, www.stokemuseums.org.uk.
