Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum — Attraction in London

We came for an electronics workshop at the Toolhouse with Sean which involved hands on circuit building (including soldering) and robotics. My son said 'it was really fun, the people were really nice, I really liked making things with the microchip. It was really educational in a fun way - I learned things that could be extremely useful in the future! If people have some spare time they should try it!'. They run workshops for adults and children (there were adults doing robotics today). There is also some stuff to look at including tube trains (with access to the drivers cab), a 1979 fire engine and a vast amount of fire fighting related exhibits from around the world, a model railway and more. There is a small indoor art and play area for kids and some water play outside. The cafe is old skool cheap and cheerful and we enjoyed our lunch. There is also a little shop with some great things to buy, ranging from postcards and trinkets to overground mugs to engineering toys. The volunteers do a great job running it and have plenty of plans for the future, which sound...

Great venue to visit with kids, has some interesting old trains on display to walk onto, fire engines and paraphernalia, relaxed eating areas indoors and outdoors, a great play area for crafts and activities and other aspects of the pumphouse. Our main reason for visiting however was the model train area, but we were totally disappointed to see it being run by children while adults stood around talking and it was a shambles. The trains were stopping and starting, arguments over which train where, whilst other young children looked on being told they were unable to enter the area or touch the trains, whilst they watched these particular children playing with the trains. Although work is still being done on the display, we were completely disappointed the train area is not run seriously by an adult properly coordinating running the models on the tracks instead of watching a fenced off exclusive...

The name is slightly deceptive because what they mean is the disused tube carriage restaurant. I wanted to go for my birthday, I'm a train anorak. Don't go expecting luxury, lights, pazass, or anything approaching posh, modern or quaint, you won't get it. But go expecting a delicious meal in an unusual, small and different venue with great staff and you'll love it. If you're a tube enthusiast, it's a must. If you're not but love something different, it's great. They need to know dietary requirements in advance. You have to book, don't just turn up. And if you're not driving but are on public transport, ensure you have the lie of the land. There's no immediately near tube station (ironically). It's in a small yard at the junction of a couple of small streets in a residential area.. you could easily think you're in the wrong place completely....