IWM North — Attraction in Trafford

TL;DR - Having been to the Imperial War Museum in London, I was keen to visit the Northern-based museum which is much closer to home. I wasn't quite expecting the same level as the London one as they always seem to have better exhibits and more on show in general. It didn't disappoint, even though there wasn't as much on show as as I thought there would be within such a large building. However, the exhibits were great to look at and the kids enjoyed it too.

Parking When we went (Sunday in January), there was construction work happening at the rear of the museum. As a result 50% of the car park was shut off to the public which resulted in a bit of a pandemonium trying to find a space. Please bear this in mind when planning your visit, as there is no on-street parking on the main road next to the museum.

Getting In You enter downstairs straight into the gift shop and café via a short path from the car park. There are some nice selections of hot & cold drinks available (milk alternatives available) as well as sandwiches and cakes. There's ample seating around the cafe for you to sit down and eat. We took some of our own food in there too, which you are allowed to eat in there - just not in the main exhibition space (I had to down an entire cup of coffee before entering).

Accessibility The main exhibition space is located upstairs, accessible via stairs or a large lift. We took our Wonderfold Wagon which fit nicely into the lift with a few other people, so double and triple prams will be fine.

Toilets are all on the ground floor next to the café. This includes accessible toilets. As a side note, it was nice to see a note on the red cords fully touching the floor instead of being tied-up. My son accidentally pulled the cord and a member of staff attended within seconds, so kudos to the team for being responsive to help despite it being an accidental alarm!

There's also a large selection of lockers and pram/wheelchair storage space near the toilets. Lockers take £1 and it is refundable, which makes a nice change.

Exhibits On the main floor you enter through into a large open space. There are a mixture of exhibits that are in chronological order providing you follow the room from the left, starting at World War One and working through to the Cold War and modern warfare. I won't spoil the exhibits themselves, but there is a good mixture of vehicles, weapons, personal effects, posters etc for you to look at. A couple of the standout exhibits were the things from Auschwitz as well as part of a steel girder from The World Trade Center.

If you have children, there is a storytellers trail they can complete. Just visit the information desk in the main exhibition space as you enter and ask for the sheets and a pencil. They can follow the trail and draw/write about certain things they see - a great way to keep them engaged and give you more than three seconds to read the information panels.

Lastly, there is a cinematic show every hour on the hour. The lights dim and projectors go through a reel about World War One on the exhibition space walls. There are loud bangs and flashes, but it's an immersive short documentary on the pains of war, in particular the WWI. You are warned 5 minutes beforehand should you have any requirements to consider such as...

Such a good day out. Decided to pay a visit to the IWM during February half term. The museum is situated on Salford Quays and next to MediaCityUK. . Firstly, let's talk about practical stuff. The museum is easy to access by both road and public transport and it has its own NCP carpark onsite next to the museum. The carpark is pretty reasonable for Manchester/Salford with parking starting at £5 for 4 hours. Please be aware. If you park for 1 hour or 4 the price is still £5. Secondly, the payment machine at this carpark is card only but you can pay retrospectively online if you prefer. Alternatively there are plenty of alternatives close by including the MediaCityUK multistorey and the Quayside (former Lowry Outlet) multistorey. If you are using public transport the metrolink is a good option with stations close by and onsite. . The museum itself is totally free of charge to enter and you can reserve timeslots online in advance. We did this, however I think you would be fine to just 'walk up' as the venue is very large with a big capacity. . The museum itself tells the history of war beginning just prior to WW1 through to present day. The exhibits work on a timeline that is mapped out in a circuit around the venue. In addition within the centre of the venue are a range of additional exhibits focusing on a specific topic. Every hour an immersive film is played that is incredibly well produced and projected throughout the walls of the main space. These films were really interesting and I really enjoyed the poems. The entire exhibition is located on one floor, and accessibility is really good. . The museum also has a gift shop onsite and a really good cafe. The coffees and cakes were very reasonably priced and super tasty. The coffee was real coffee. . In summary, it's a great place to visit and perfect for children. However, it is better suited to children who are a little older. My youngest is 8 and whilst she liked the museum the vast amounts of reading would be too much for children who are under 7. However, all said this is a moving museum that's a must visit in...

Weird shaped building to house a museum commemorating war. The shape, high walls, sloping floor and the way everything is displayed feels disorienting to me.

If this was a temporary exhibition, and the building usually housed modern art exhibitions, then it would be acceptable but the way they have set this up even feels disrespectful.

The fact they start from 1914, for a museum called “Imperial” and supposed to be about war, seems strange too. Weed there no wars before 1914, or was Manchester and the North not involved in anything previous to the First World War?

No idea why there are odd shaped big chairs in one of the inner chambers. No idea why one chamber has cabinet file drawers with photos of people who were in wars but most of the drawers don’t open and are too high to see even the photos.

Although there are descriptions with each artefact, the information about each war and the various battles and other aspects are is basic. The museum contents seems to be aimed at junior school children, although the unnecessarily pretentious cafe certainly isn’t with its over pricing of everything.

Outside approaching the entrance are oddly shaped gravel spaces, with gravel spilt all over the place. These don’t spell out a word of appear to mean anything, just make the whole exterior look messy. Large concrete blocks support a framework that holds a strange display. The blocks and frame are an idea attraction for keen children to climb on, so signs have been added saying “don’t climb on the blocks.” Might as well build a sandpit and say “don’t play in the sand.”

The best part of this whole place is the gift shop, as there is a large variety of war related items and most are reasonably priced, certainly in comparison to the cafe. The gift shop is the only reason this place, in my opinion, gets two stars.

Very disappointing.

Unless you’ve seen everything else in Manchester or it’s raining and you’ve nothing else to do, even though it’s free to enter, give...