The Beacon Museum — Attraction in Whitehaven

I just moved to Whitehaven and visited the Beacon museum and heritage centre on Whitehaven's vast harbours-within-a-harbour, once-thriving centre of trade during the industrial revolution.

Whitehaven was a 17th century planned Georgian merchants' town which has all but remained unchanged for 300 years.

From an outside high-up walkway are views of the flat almost geometric town between two evergreen slopes almost exactly as the 17th century plan.

A top chamber takes us through Whitehaven's geological history including Aero-like haematite iron ore with a large touchable chunk found in a pub on the harbour, the history of coal and quarried sandstone made red by the presence of iron. There are exhibits with touchable screens which take you in all manner of entertaining and informative directions; also, we meet the harbours and we can put large wooden jigsaw pieces of the entire structure into a likewise-proportioned jigsaw frame which I particularly enjoyed. I also did a green crayon rubbing of a fossilised leaf. You can interface with the harbour's history, narrowly wiggling trade buccaneer-style ships into harbour while seeing the origins of the harbours, the Sugar Tongue sugar wharf for example.

Up on the mezzanine yet more fun awaits. This is Whitehaven over the decades but it is everybody's decades, with cabinets of 1970's toys - Etch-A-Sketch, Scalextric, Action Man, Slinky all to kindle the cockles of any generation's heart. Plus a Chopper bike evoking memories of kids in bell bottoms on dusty street corners, by stand pipes, corner shops, one foot on the ground in wait.

I then sat down quietly at a 1980's Space Invaders machine courtesy of the house where I worked my way through a couple of the programme playing screen snooker, the rules and premise of which eluded me, and shooting up spitfires in moving clouds.

I could have played a game of gigantic Connect 4 on the scale of immovable-looking outdoor chessmen but companionless and reluctant to challenge myself I came upon something much more aspirational. Yes, I could be a weather girl for a day whereby I had to read the weather SCRIPT (bands of highs, lows, pressures, rain expectation) whilst illustrating the same on a CHROMA KEY background where I couldn't turn around and I couldn't see the map of the country anyway. I was asked to come back by the talking head and record some more which I took on board. I think they may say that to everyone.

Next to a visiting Apothecary and Medieval Surgeonry exhibition which already had possession of my tenter hooks and I was not to be disappointed. This was a highly atmospheric semi-darkened quack's back room-style affair issuing the scents of ground animal's bones, poultices and a suggestion of recently leach-let blood. So we had all sorts of cures for all sorts of maladies most of which don't appear to exist any more. Nettle application for a case of nettle rash, a sawdust infusion of virgin hazel to cure a bilious attack, three-quarters of a spoonful of dragon's blood for distemper. Also a dazzling array of saws and hammers for surgical administration with only a stick to chew on for anaesthetic. Edified, I had the next floor to take in.

Here a different story. We learn of the Lowther family, responsible for the town's building, with the Baronets over the centuries, later Earls of Lonsdale. So we have speaking characters at their posts - slave captain at his wheel, wall-projected accounts of miners' dwellings, interactive contemporary costumes to try on all in appropriately darkened patina ship's hold light. And here I had to call close to my visit to return at a later date.

This is fun and kids about the place were doing some serious studious active study and recreational chores, such as on the Space Invaders machine. I got a lot out of this, not least with my fossil rubbing, and if I like it and I'm 55 I should say most...

As parents of a 12 year old daughter and an 11 year old son with Autism and ADHD, we have had many hit and miss experiences with museums, in terms of what they offer for both of them. This was a big hit!

For the price, we were so impressed with not only the amount of interactive/hands on activities but also how they've managed to maintain a certain level of quiet and calm throughout the whole museum; with a spread-out layout, quite a number of dimly lit areas and a pirate section with ocean lights that was quite like a sensory space.

The young gentleman on reception was so friendly and informative, the toilets were spotless, and there was plenty of hand sanitiser around without everywhere being too aggressively labelled. ("Covid crime scenes", as we've come to call them, can be really triggering for a child that relies on visual prompts a lot of the time.)

There are some gorgeous little walks all around the museum, so you can really make a day of it. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable...

Went to the museum with my family and really enjoyed it, every floor was amazing, the interactive games were brilliant both for adults and kids. We started on the 4 floor were the views are amazing and then worked our way down to the cafe. We decided to have food as it was late in the day, we ordered two fish and chips and two burgers and chips. The plain burger We sent back as it was raw in the middle and they kindly re cooked it and gave it us back on a new bun however when I broke into my fish the batter was so thick it was raw inside, the fish looked cooked and was hot however me and my daughter didn't eat it as well you never know with fish. But what a disappointment to the visit, we was so looking forward to food as the smell was gorgeous to then have undercooked food it was just bad. If it hadn't of been for the food I'd if given 5 stars. I don't know whether it was at the end of the day and couldn't be bothered or what....we just ate our chips,drank our coffee and...