Crich Tramway Village — Attraction in Amber Valley

Crich Tramway Village was very much a game of two halves for us when we visited earlier this month.

There are family links to this museum going back many years and as it was my first time visiting, I was looking forward to seeing it all for myself.

The trams themselves are beautiful. The skill of the restoration team is second to none; you can view the workshop and see the process in action via the Stephenson gallery There are several depots you can walk around too and whilst the trams are tightly packed in, you can walk both sides of most of them and take photographs. The displays are well thought out with plenty of information.

Some of the buildings have been bought in from other areas and reconstructed in the Tramway village. The attention to detail here was amazing to see and whilst the village is small compared to some of the other outdoor museums, they were as good as any that we have seen elsewhere. The cobbled street where the trams run is nostalgic and delightful.

By purchasing a ticket online, you can save a couple of pounds and your email with the QR code is valid for 12 months so you can return if you wish. We found prices to be on a par with most other attractions. Your ticket gives you access to all the areas and as many rides on the trams as you can manage, the journey only takes about 10 -15 minutes from one end to the other. On the day we visited, 4 very different trams were working.

We were very much looking forward to visiting the tearoom for refreshments potentially followed by a little treat from the Ice Cream kiosk and sadly we were very disappointed on both counts. The tearoom is a hideous, red-painted, out of place monstrosity that would be more suited to something in Ikea, (no disrespect to our favourite Swedish furnishers). There was very little on offer to eat despite a huge blackboard behind the counter that was completely blank! The acoustics in the room amplified every chair that scraped on the floor and any fretful child in disagreement with their parents. The floor was pretty dirty which did not bode well for whatever was behind the scenes. We had a quick cuppa and scarpered.

To purchase an ice cream, you have to get a receipt from the sweet shop. The experience in both of these areas did not feel very authentic, a more detailed review has been left on Tripadvisor.

I have been fortunate to have visited Beamish, the Black Country Museum and Blists Hill in the past and it seems that Crich Tramway Village have missed a trick here.

Some suggestions to upgrade the current facilities could be:-

Use 'Old money' to purchase goodies from the sweet shop. Parents could purchase this with their contactless platform of choice at the entrance

Acquire some old fashioned scales and use weights to measure out those sweet treats to authenticate the experience.

The jars of sweets all looked the same. Get smaller jars and offer some variety, Or have dummy jars on the top shelf and duplicate these on the lower shelves.

Revamp the displays in the sweet shop. Discard any packaging that predates the timescale represented in the museum. Certainly sweet shops sold smoking paraphernalia in the past so dedicate a window to this rather than having the faded yellow mismatch of goods. It made the sweet shop look a little dirty

Could the assistants in the sweet shop, ice cream kiosk and cafe could wear some form of period dress?

A little tea room serving a cuppa in a nice china cup from a teapot would certainly add to the experience. Food is a huge profit maker in many attractions and whilst there may be a need for a self service type affair for hectic families, there is surely an opening for something a little more refined and in keeping with the ethos of the museum.

I was extremely impressed with the refurbishment of the trams and the enthusiasm of the volunteers. Everyone we spoke to was friendly. I would certainly recommend a visit if you are in the area but bring...

A really interesting place to visit. I took my elderly father and didn't expect to find much to interest me, but I was so wrong.

The site is large, has lots to see and the history and information all around us was fascinating - lots of the buildings were historic - coming from all parts of the country and their interesting backgrounds were well documented within the literature available too. There was also a lot of information about the quarry site and mining history of the area with beautiful views and walks. The "village" street area was largely authentic - the roads were cobbled, the street furniture appeared in keeping - pretty streetlamps, bandstands & bridges for example. Each of the tram stops had seating and often other items of interest.

The refreshment & toilet facilities were all clean & well maintained. There were several options for food and drink which was well presented and tasty, along with an old fashioned sweetie shop, ice cream parlour & tea-rooms. We opted for the Red Lion pub meal which was enjoyed sitting outside in the sunshine.

I was actually impressed as most of the site had good access for disabled or mobility impaired folk (sadly with the exception of actually getting on the trams, the steps were high for my elderly Dad - disabled access wasn't around when the trams were!) I believe we saw a tram which appeared to be specifically fitted with wheelchair access, so they have done the best they can to provide suitable facilities - I imagine arrangements would need to be made in advance with a quick phone call to ascertain what is available. Pushchairs had to be left in a special "garage" at the tram terminus too if families were taking a ride.

Due to COVID pandemic restrictions in force when we visited our tram ride had to be "booked" making moving about the site more difficult than I understood it usually was - no hopping on and off at all the stops sadly (we'd been looking forward to that!), but the booked ride was fun and the staff were all extremely friendly, knowledgeable and happy to help or chat. The history behind the many trams actually proved to be fascinating - many were from other countries as well as loads of British vehicles of all types. The "Museum" hosted some interesting items too.

There was too much to visit/see in one day - I would love to go back when "normal service" is resumed and social distancing rules no longer apply. We had a fun day out and the tickets allow return visits...

We absolutely love this place. It costs just under £50 for a family of 2 adults and 3 kids. We only have 2 kids but still worked out cheaper to purchase this option. The entry price allows you to return for a full 12 months if you keep your receipt.

Reasons we love the place, there is so much to do and see even when it's raining like it was when we visited early August this year. You get a coin which allows you entry onto the trams all day and they take you up and down the tramline and you get to see all sorts along the way.

One downside is the tram used to take you a lot further but not it only goes up as far as the play park stop and then turns back. Not sure if this is due to unstable ground further round and not sure if this will change again at any point. You can go up and down on the trams as many times as you like and the trams are all different so you get to travel on different ones too.

At the end stop there are some quirky little play features but the forest trail back is great.

It has gotten a little tired over the years but I'm amazed it's still open post Covid as I'm sure it would have struggled for upkeep during that time. You want can walk back at your leisure and there lots to see on your way with viewpoints, wood carvings, games in the woods, wooden dens etc. so it's great for kids.

They have a nice cafe and pub at the main tram station and also a small kids play area plus they also host themed events. When we went it was a 60's event so everyone was dressed up and they had old police cars and bands it was great fun.

You can easily spend all day here as there is lots to do. Usually I would knock off a star for the fact that some things are a little tired but honestly I really didn't bother us that much as we had so much fun.

Oh and also they now also have a tram museum for the trams not operating so you can walk around and have a look at all the trams which is...