National Coal Mining Museum for England — Attraction in Wakefield

Smashing day out. Went with the family and my fatha who is an ex-miner. Having grown up around stories from darn t'pit and all his old mates and knowing the museum was staffed by many fellow ex-miners, I was looking forward to being around those larger than life personalities even more than the museum exhibits themselves. Mindshuh, some o' towld lads that tek thi darn theer are like museum artifacts thersens! The banter began as soon as we drove to the gate. We stopped to speak to two guys in mining gear who were still speaking to each other ova top o t'car...thinking we we're good to go we drove on. We only found once me mutha and fatha arrived that we were supposed to pay on entry! Back at the gates the guys admitted they were too busy kalling; cue me mutha chastising the lads for being stood theer having a mother's bloody meetin instead o' doing job reyt! Before we even entered the building me fatha bumped into Big Bird, aka Glen, who works on the paddy train. They worked together in Selby so it was wonderful seeing them catch up and reminisce. Had a browse round inside, some really moving and poignant exhibits in the galleries concerning the Miner's Strike. Incredible collection of strike history, displayed and exhibited by people who are clearly very passionate about the history; simply stunning. And the Memorial Garden, what can I say, a beautiful monument to those courageous and dedicated guys who were all tragically taken from the families they worked so hard to look after. My dad worked with Cookie, so it was an honour to take a seat on his bench and enjoy the flower displays, which make this a living, breathing memorial. In queue to gu darn t'pit, me fatha bumped into yet another old friend who works there! We were patiently assisted with the safety helmets, not easy when you've brought kids who struggle with funny new headgear. Biker Joe was to be our guide, what a guy! I've read many other reviews commenting on the mine guides being sexist, condescending and rude to fowk...any fears of that were utterly ungrounded with our Joe, diamond in t'ruff it seems! I could listen to his pit tales from when he was 16 for....ooo a good hour! Seriously though, awesome guy, deserves special mention for his great work, he was especially reassuring when my young daughter became distressed by t'cage gooin darn reyt reyt fast. He simply said 'Y'ok Tiger?' as we disembarked the cage and she was immediately cured! Incidentally, she pretends to be tigers, jaguars, black panthers etc all the time at home, so he could not have been more on the money there! Also, Joe and my dad had both worked as miners for 33 years each which led to many of Joe's explanations of machinery and methods involving call-backs to me dad for any further info, with Joe hilariously calling him 'fatha' each time :D :D Went for lunch at the cafe which was good tasty snap, others have said it's a bit dear but fairly standard for museum grub I thought. Any road, it's amusing just to read any given menu prices to me mutha to hear her go 'EH?! Well, the robbin basturds!' Gift shop had some cool stuff but seemed a bit sparse? Our favourite was the rocks and minerals bit where they all look like sweets (spice, to give them their correct term). We had another browse round the machinery outdoors, a long play on the brilliant adventure playground and then a quick ride on the paddy with Glen before heading off oam! Thank you for this...

Firstly, may I say this is an amazing place. The grounds are huge with lots of things to do inside and out. Obviously depend on the time of year. Different things are on and not on on this occasion we went the paddy train was not on we went on the underground tour which was absolutely amazing. A tour guide told us everything we needed to know he was very knowledgeable. I believe his name was Martin. Really good. Answered the questions I asked and he was answering the questions of what people was asking as well. The best part I like is when he told they want to turn the lights off. After done the ground tour in the pit within went up and got bite to eat in a cafe please note this is very expensive so please bear that in mind. I would recommend taking a pack up. Also around the area there's like. As I said there is lots to see and do. There was a nice park for the children to play on with zip lines, swings and slides and climbing frames. There are a couple of outer buildings where you can look at the history of mining machinery. There is a steamhouse operates on weekends in the holders which is for lift to bring people up and down while it used to be. It's not no more but they still show it working which is really interesting and worth for visit in the steamhouse just behind the steam house round the back there is victorian part of history in there. You'll learn a little bit about the Victorian side of it. And also that are the pit baths the only problem when I went there was one of the audios for the clean area did not work so you could not listen to that. Some of the staff that aren't in the pit itself in the centre and knowledgeable some other has knowledgeable and they will openly tell you that. So make sure if it's a question you want answering and that person doesn't know the answer. Don't just leave it cuz there are people there who will know the answer. Lots of the stuff there and I'll pick workers and I've been down in the mine who will be able to answer the questions. On to the gift shop it's not overly priced but some of the items are quite expensive like the chocolate bar is £4 which I believe is a bit overpriced. But again the money goes back to the museum so I don't mind that they do have some lovely mine as lamps for sale. Quite expensive but they really nice. If you want to be history then purchase one. Range think it's from...

Absolutely brilliant place. Get there early even if you have a late booking for the underground tour. Lots to do, lots to see, lots to read and take in. Do your research before going to the museum. If you just turn up without looking into what's available you will miss lots of interesting facts and stories. Extremely helpful staff right from the word go. Mick who was our tour guide today was fantastic. He was very informative indeed, his stories and information given was top class. He involved everyone in our group both adults and juniors with information over the years of mining in the UK. This along with his dry sense of humour added to our most fantastic day. The way he showed just how dark, dark is once you turn your lamps off has to be seen. Also don't forget, you can ask questions whilst on your tour, don't wait for the guide to tell you everything. I found out that all mines in the surrounding area were connected and if necessary could be walked from pit to pit. Which when you think about it is unbelievable but true. The whole history of mining should be shown and known to everyone in the UK. It has been a massive part of our culture and people should be made more aware of it. It was mentioned that there is going to be a more modern setup showing how the dynamite explodes with a light, sound and smoke scene being added next year. This will definitely add to the tour. If the sounds of machinery etc could be replicated then the whole experience of the underground tour would be taken up a notch. It rained all day, but what a great day indeed. We did our homework and the whole day was a great success indeed. We, as a family, shall definitely be back. Keep up the the good work everyone involved you should all be very proud of what you all do. Oh, and thanks once again Mick your a Top...