Milestones Museum — Attraction in Basingstoke and Deane

I loved this place as it transports you back to the Victorian and 1930s period impeccably. It's completely immersive, and the level of detail to reconstruct, streets, shops, a pub, a seaside pier, and a school classroom is astonishing. There's even a bicycle shop. There's so much to see here, and if you love history, architecture, steam-powered vehicles, motorcars, and period buses , this the place. The first thing is when you walk in, that the staff are in period costumes. There was a lack of staff on that were on hand as you walked in, especially with guides (audio handsets) that told you the history. We almost missed that. Everything seemed to be audio based with handsets, and it would have been interesting to read more about the period. The pier was a nice idea but seemed a bit flat. For some reason, period games were then in the same period as arcade games, which immediately took me out of the experience. It would also be great if actors or guides were a lot more interactive. When you walked into the period pub, it all felt (like the beer a bit flat). Staff didn't really seem to know what to do to interact. Would have been great to have tours round here as there is so much information that I would have loved to know more about. Also, staff in period costumes in their shops or surrounding streets walking around would have been great. Sounds as you walked around the streets would have been amazing and aromas too to make it truly immersive. My little 4 year old loved it, and the hunt for objects as part of a history hunt was sweet and kept him engaged. He even got a bag of sweets for completing it!It's a wonderful place, reasonably priced. The tea cafe place should have been a period one, we got everything served in paper cups and something about staff in modern clothing took you out of the experience. Would great to have vintage style. The shop needs improving for merchandise, cars and trains, t-shirts, and jumpers. Will go back again as the ticket you can use all year round, and this is going to be...

Vey disappointed after visiting in half term with one child.

This is a great experience for families. Aimed at children, educational and fun. A very large indoor space that is handy if it happens to be raining outside..........unless you want to eat that is.

There is a cafe with a small selection of food and a tea cabin as well. There are benches throughout the place but beware of the rules "NO PICNICING". And they mean it. We had brought sandwiches of our own and decided that a bench would be OK to quickly eat on. I know it meant breaking the rules but how many times has a parent done this?

After about a minute a polite member of staff came over and told us to stop eating and take it outside. We did so and found just 7 wooden benches all occupied by other families. Another visitor said there was a field in front of the site so we walked round.

We found a few vandalised benches and tables with rusty nails poking out and ended up sitting on a rotten log instead. Other families were wandering around looking for places to eat. we gave them our rotten log and they seemed happy.

I then spoke to the manager who was extremely polite but also intransigent in terms of the food issues that we had experienced. He emphasised this 'Was a museum' and expected me to make allowances on convenience and comfort. To cut a long story short he said that it was important they preserved their profitability by not allowing families to eat their own food inside. He also mentioned that it was difficult for them to clean up after 'picnics' indoors.

My impression is that the place is giving off the wrong signals and needs to properly think about visitor expectations. We paid £35 for about 2 hours of interesting and educational time. We expected to be treated to a fully functioning facility that catered for its target audience. We were...

I would have given it 5 stars but honestly the staff let this place down. The women on the front desk who sold us the tickets had a face like thunder. The women in the sweet shop also the same. The saving grace was the guy serving drinks in the pub (but lets face it, you can't be unhappy in a pub!) Whats missing big time with this place are labels. Silly as it sounds you have to carry this talking phone thing around which tells you what each thing is. The kids soon got fed up and bored with them. More labels on some items with dates and basic information. and also buttons you can push to start the characters talking. We waited ages for a film to start. It would also be nice if the things where more interactive. The kids LOVED the arcade games (although a lot didnt work which meant wasted money and unhappy kids) because they could push buttons that made things move or talk. And loved the bus. Disappointed they couldnt sit on more things for photos. On the plus side they loved being able to go into shops etc. Seeing the dummies dressed up and they loved dressing up (more clothes needed for boys please) Me personally, I loved the attention to detail. I felt at home in the pub (surprise surprise!) And loved the cobble streets with drains. I loved the little hidden stuff like the house with very small back garden and an outside loo. The best bits for me had to be the rooms that where 'made up.' Like the bike shop, sweet shop, little house and car show room. I would have preferred the toy shop to be more like a toy shop rather than toys behind glass. The kids kept asking to be picked up to see the top shelf. Over all the place is good. And I think it has the potential to be great. I hope if we visit again we see...