Now let’s be honest, when you think of my home town of Barnsley your first thought isn’t likely to be tourist attractions, in fact, I dare not ask what your first thought might be…. But Barnsley actually has 6 museums (even I didn’t realise this) and the newest of which, Experience Barnsley, is sure to be a real game-changer for the town.
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| Top- Giving the lecture in the council chamber L-R- people in attendance, the beautiful ceiling, socialist wall hangings outside the council chamber |
My first experience of Experience Barnsley *sigh* was when I attended a lecture on the dialect of Royston, a suburb of Barnsley (hey, I’m just that cool ok!). I entered through the museum but quickly whisked myself off to the lecture which was held in the council chamber within the town hall. The council chamber is a beautiful room and the lecture was very interesting I won’t go into that as I don’t want to repel my readers with my nerdiness!
After that I didn’t check out the museum itself, I didn’t want to rush myself, so a week later, with my little sister in tow, I went into town determined to check it out.
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| I don’t think these need much of an explanation…. |
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| Left- entrance to the museum, listing all the areas of Barnsley, Top- found my village Bottom- The beautiful Town-hall staircase |
I have to say, I’m impressed! When I first walked in I bumped into a friend who works there and told her that already it looked much better then I expected, she says they get that allot (us Barnsley folk are ever the optimists)
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| Top L-R- Timeline of the town, the famous market roundabout horses, my favourite quote on the Barnsley accent Mid L-R- one Barnsley address, some of the exhibits, my favourite painting in the gallery Bottom L-R- Barnsley FC, Kes, coal not dole miners helmet |
The museum s a lot more fun, it falls into the category of the more hands-on modern museums and although there are lots of things behind glass, there’s plenty of things to touch, play with and watch. It included the things everyone expected, industrial mining and glass, Barnsley FC and Kes but also things people wouldn’t expect like an art gallery. It takes the town back way into Roman times and beyond, which I did not expect. There are also many interactive features to keep people of all ages interested including a film showing a street in Barnsley through the ages, music made by people from the area and even a section on the infamous dialect.
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| I am from the firm belief that whenever you visit a museum you must take a picture of yourself dressed up and looking an idiot wherever possible :p |
Overall I’d say that there is something here for everyone, you can easily spend a couple of hours here and they have new exhibits every few months, did I mention it’s totally free? There’s also a cafe and a gift shop so if you’re visiting Yorkshire any time soon I recommend you take a visit.
Blits Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge
Driving a Hot Tub Through the Thames with HotTug
The Household Cavalry Museum
Could You Ditch Your Suitcase for a Cabin Zero backpack?
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