South Shields Museum & Art Gallery — Attraction in South Tyneside

Fun, fun, fun if you like a mixture of folklore, local history and a wonderful laughing policeman puppet. There are one or two gruesome exhibits that you might not want any child under twelve to see like the ' gibbet' and it's accompanying description. It threw me a little after ld just been looking at live snakes in a tank just around the corner. There are tarantulas as well. It's definitely a fascinating place that maps out the shipping and mining industries, the origins of our national lifeboat rescue service, and the nightmare of the blitz on Tyneside. Can't say ld like sleeping on a horsehair mattress in a bunk bed. There's also an upper floor that houses the current art exhibition which l didn't have time to see. There are various watercolours dotted in between the exhibits on the ground floor and in the shop at reception. The shop also has great photographic poster offers. It has plenty of folk tale books, mapped walks and various pocket money toys and magnets. Don't forget to visit the lovely victoriana cafe which serves tea in a lovely China teapot, the sandwiches arrive with generous salad garnish and the gigantic sponge cakes are baked fresh by the staff. The museum is well worth an hour or twos browsing plus a leisurely half hour in the cafe where everyone is...

There’s really not much here, I think it only has two floors and it’s all about the history of South Shields so I’m sure they could fit more in! We went to see scran the food exhibition and really there wasn’t much there, I think kids would be quite bored after about fifteen minutes. Although the creepy crawlies section was cool and the snakes were amazing but other than that it’s not worth making the journey for. We had travelled from Newcastle on the metro specifically for this museum, as a kid I remember it being a lot bigger and with more things to look at, it had been about twenty years since I’d last visited but I don’t think I’ll be rushing back unfortunately. Aside from the creepy crawlies section the only other positive was the cafe where the staff were really nice and my mam had a milkshake and said it was lovely. It had a nice theme in that it was Victorian tea room themed but we asked for a flat white and ended up with what resembled a filter/instant coffee. The people of South Shields deserve a...

The cafe, order a latte at £2.30 what comes is a standard coffee in a latte tall glass, it's too strong so away she goes brings it back topped up with water so it's like see through swamp water, I leave it but point out I've left it as its not a latte theres no milk, one at the till agrees that it's not a latte with no milk. er, would you like some more water said the one who served it, I can put it in a take away cup? REALLY? I mean REALLY. No attempt at a refund. One serving says next time I come I'll make it better, told her there wouldn't be a next time, I won't be back! Bill come to over £10 for tuna sandwiches tea an apple slice with ice cream and the appaling coffee. Museum itself needs a complete rethink in terms of internal layout and the exhibitions too many small chopped up sections they need to look at the original layout and open...