Monday 7 May 2018

A Day At Blists Hill Victorian Town

We decided to treat the kids to a day out this Bank Holiday weekend that we knew both my wife and I would enjoy! We'd both been to Blists Hill museum in the past, long before we had kids, when my wife was checking it out for a school visit.

The sun was shining and we hoped we'd be in for a good day.


Firstly I'd like to say it's not a cheap day out. A family ticket is around £70 but for that you get to come back as many times as you want within that year, you also gain access to 10 attractions based around Ironbridge that you can access at any time. If you keep your ticket and there's an attraction you haven't visited within that year you can still go to each one once - which I thought was great because it's fair distance from us. I was still a bit annoyed at having to pay £3 to park as well after the big ticket prices though, but this is a pretty minor gripe really.

With their pocket money!

Being a sunny Bank Holiday we knew it would be busy, but the museum is on such a big site you never felt that it was. We could still go into empty shops and attractions and could easily talk with the reinactors (and ask them thousand of questions like I did).



Our youngest did make the first hour or so particularly hard as he decided he didn't know what he wanted. In the push chair he wanted carrying, carrying he wanted to walk and if he walked he just cried on the ground. I  guess being a two year old is hard with all these decisions but we felt quite sheepish as he screamed, and I mean SCREAMED, the place down. Goodness knows what anyone thought!

Carbolic soap - I brought some to try and use for my hair - I'll let you know how I get on!

Luckily once we'd eaten lunch he cheered up and we could wonder round all the attractions. I love how big the place is, some of the buildings had been brought brick by brick. The girls loved learning about how people lived in those times, seeing things like the wash house and also indulging my love of outhouses because they were everywhere!
Laundry room
I love a good outhouse - convincing the kids not to use it was hard...

The shops on the main street are great, we changed our money into "old money" in the bank and lett eh children have an allowance. The general store is like an Aldins cave, there's a chemists, bike shop and many more. My eldest daughters favourite was the fabric shop where she spent her pocket money on two bits of fabric to make things out of later (grandma will be so proud!). The younger two both brought a wooden toy, I was impressed that most stuff was really reasonably priced and they weren't trying to rip off their captive audience!
Another great outhouse!

They loved seeing the school house as well. Both girls are obsessed with school at the moment! My wife and I loved the "hovel" as we're fairly sure its were we would have lived in the past as neither of us came from money. I still think we would have been happy in those conditions though!

The May pole was out and being used by the fair and with the sun shining the whole palce looked truly gorgeous with games to play outside.

Games left out to play with - a nice touch

We were all completely drained by the end, all three children slept on the hour and a half journey home! We all enjoyed a really fun day out and I've no doubt that we'll be heading back up there this year to take advantage of our tickets a little bit more!

Dipping candles! 

All aboard! 

9 comments:

  1. what a fun outing! it looks like the kids had a blast.

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    1. They loved it! Took the boy a little while to warm up! I was close to going home with him at one point he was that bad! After lunch he was fine though!

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  2. Great photos and it looks a great day out too!

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    1. Thanks Dave, it was a great day in the sunshine.

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  3. The day looked like such fun (after lunch!) I'm betting all three kids will be ready to go back again. Well, at least two of them. ;o) I'm not sure your son really knew what was going on . . . and that may have been what put him out of sorts.

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    1. We're currently experiencing the terrible twos! The girls didn't really go through it and waited until they were three to go through a bad patch! Sometimes he is the most loving boy ever and other times.... I think it's just boys! I think it was too hot for him as well to be honest! Once we'd eaten he was fine.
      the girls would love to go back again and I'm sure we will as there's so much you can do from the single ticket! Many days out for that price.

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  4. We love it there, and I think it's easily the best of the historical town museums (though I haven't been to Beamish). I like the re-enactors there. We went to St Fagans near Cardiff at the weekend and it was lovely but the staff are in polo shirts and on the whole weren't very engaging. They'd answer questions if you asked but (having briefly been a re-enactor in Stratford) it didn't feel very spontaneous and I was disappointed to see a Victorian lady having lunch outside the 1950's prefab and staff's plastic lunch boxes in Tudor houses. My boss would have been livid! At Blists Hill they all seem to really love their jobs and are so enthusiastic.
    When you go back I'd really recommend Enginuity- your 3 would love it. It's all interactive science- lots of buttons and pulleys and water!- in an old Aga factory. Your girls would like the china museum too- you can (buy) and paint little pottery flowers which we used as Mother's Day presents one year.

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  5. Where do you recommend staying if you visit this area? Im not sure if the museums are all within walking distance or which is the nearest town or village, even? Thanks!

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