Machinery museums or exhibits in the UK?

[Janger]

My spouse and I are thinking about going to the UK in the fall. I want to see some antique machinery. The science museum in London has lots to see but is there anywhere else worth the visit?

 

[deleted_user]

My spouse and I are thinking about going to the UK in the fall. I want to see some antique machinery. The science museum in London has lots to see but is there anywhere else worth the visit?

The UK is museum nirvana... I have this tour on my bucket list. My wife's family are from the UK

What regions of the UK will you be visiting? The north, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds all have good industrial museums... I can't recall the names offhand.... If it were me I would not miss the Kempton Steam Museum either

 

[Janger]

We're really not too sure - there are several places in London - the usual tourist places. Oxford maybe - I lived there for a bit with my folks.

 

[deleted_user]

Let me expound further... the UK has so many great museums that you can even choose specific industries to concentrate on, such as old printing equipment.... obviously all sorts of steam and railway museums, textile and hat making, pretty much any industry the UK used to be famous for you will find a decent museum with a great collection.

Thats why I want to visit the Kempton... they have the largest working triple expansion steam engine.... I used to live in Kingston and visit the pumphouse steam museum fairly often but the never had anything as awesome

 

[boilerhouse]

A friend of mine, a fellow steam enthusiast and of British descent, tells me York has an awesome machine shop where they service their steam locomotives. Not normally open to the public, but they seem to be happy to make exceptions for those with an interest in such things. I was in York many years ago, and like an idiot, I just walked along the wall and visited a few tourist traps. But as TB says, UK is full of technical museums of all sizes and personalities. They have done an incredible job keeping the past alive and well.
I did not know about the Kingston pump house, so thanks for bringing it up. It is now on the post Covid to-do list.

 

[ShawnR]

My spouse and I are thinking about going to the UK in the fall. I want to see some antique machinery. The science museum in London has lots to see but is there anywhere else worth the visit?

Years ago, my wife and I went to California for a few weeks. Before we left, I posted on a machining forum, USA based, asking the same thing, about things to do while there in California, and based on our route (San Diego to San Francisco and back to San Diego) The next day, I had like 2 pages of responses. It was great! I hit many of the suggestions. So maybe post on a UK based forum asking the same question...? You might get better insight. I would suspect that there are lots to do.

And let me know. It sounds like we are heading there in September for a wedding, so maybe I can do some of that, before the pub, of course....

 

[deleted_user]

Years ago, my wife and I went to California for a few weeks. Before we left, I posted on a machining forum, USA based, asking the same thing, about things to do while there in California, and based on our route (San Diego to San Francisco and back to San Diego) The next day, I had like 2 pages of responses. It was great! I hit many of the suggestions. So maybe post on a UK based forum asking the same question...? You might get better insight. I would suspect that there are lots to do.

And let me know. It sounds like we are heading there in September for a wedding, so maybe I can do some of that, before the pub, of course....

The UK is very sophisticated when it comes to tourism and history. Years ago when I was hoping to visit my wife's relatives I found reams of information and a site with every type of museum listed by list and map view. I'll see if I can find it in my bookmarks and post it....

 

[Susquatch]

Years ago, my wife and I went to California for a few weeks. Before we left, I posted on a machining forum, USA based, asking the same thing, about things to do while there in California, and based on our route (San Diego to San Francisco and back to San Diego) The next day, I had like 2 pages of responses. It was great! I hit many of the suggestions. So maybe post on a UK based forum asking the same question...? You might get better insight. I would suspect that there are lots to do.

And let me know. It sounds like we are heading there in September for a wedding, so maybe I can do some of that, before the pub, of course....

A word of advice. Don't listen to anybody who tells you that those brits make the best fish N chips. That is absolute BULLSH#T. Same goes for Mushy Peas. Not even a ravenous dog would eat either of those poisons.

I made the double mistake of trying it twice. First time was basically raw fish and potato chunks soaked in oil and peas that got boiled for so long that they were grey instead of green. Yuk!

Second time was only because I couldn't believe it could be that bad elsewhere. WRONG. Yes it can. In fact, it can be worse. The fish can be still living.

Truth is that the Brits can't cook. They boil everything in water or in oil. Ever had a burger boiled in water? Ya, they boil hamburgers in water over there. Never had even one good meal in England. On the other hand, I never had a bad meal in Holland, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Austria, or Italy.

 

[ShawnR]

A word of advice. Don't listen to anybody who tells you that those brits make the best fish N chips. That is absolute BULLSH#T. Same goes for Mushy Peas. Not even a ravenous dog would eat either of those poisons.

I made the double mistake of trying it twice. First time was basically raw fish and potato chunks soaked in oil and peas that got boiled for so long that they were grey instead of green. Yuk!

Second time was only because I couldn't believe it could be that bad elsewhere. WRONG. Yes it can. In fact, it can be worse. The fish can be still living.

Truth is that the Brits can't cook. They boil everything in water or in oil. Ever had a burger boiled in water? Ya, they boil hamburgers in water over there. Never had even one good meal in England. On the other hand, I never had a bad meal in Holland, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Austria, or Italy.

LMAO

 

[ShawnR]

I don't want to tramp on @Janger 's thread but it is UK related. My brother in law moved there after University to teach English....yes, teach English to the English. I don't understand doctors. But he is a cool guy, despite his education..... so I think that whatever we find to do, he will be up for coordinating. ie finding museums, etc. It is his daughter's wedding.

Not sure when your visit is Janger, but if we go, mine will be in September. IIRC, there are suppliers of machining kits that are based in UK. I might have to order one to my Brother in laws house just to bring it home without shipping....mmmmmm?

But they all use that goofy metric stuff so don't know what I would be ordering....

 

[Chicken lights]

Years ago, my wife and I went to California for a few weeks. Before we left, I posted on a machining forum, USA based, asking the same thing, about things to do while there in California, and based on our route (San Diego to San Francisco and back to San Diego) The next day, I had like 2 pages of responses. It was great! I hit many of the suggestions. So maybe post on a UK based forum asking the same question...? You might get better insight. I would suspect that there are lots to do.

And let me know. It sounds like we are heading there in September for a wedding, so maybe I can do some of that, before the pub, of course....

The annoying thing I’ve found about USA travels is trying to find “locals” to ask about good sightseeing places. I’ve pretty much given up on that, most bar tenders/taxi drivers/hotel clerks etc have all moved in from other states (my experience anyway). I found the same thing when I was in the UK, the castles in the background were just common scenery to them and not worth talking about.

I’ve had better luck with tripadvisor and reading reviews, but that might not help finding machinery museums

I found out the beach by the Golden Gate Bridge has a clothing optional section first hand, not that I care but it made cropping pictures of the bridge harder, to keep the pics PG

 

[deleted_user]

Below is a link to Historic UK, The History and Heritage Accommodation Guide for the UK.

It is an invaluable resource for any tourist with an interest in any kind of history, planning a visit to the UK.

The one article and especially the map in particular will be of interest to you @Janger

Museums in England, Scotland and Wales

You will see that the legend is extensive so that you can drill down to just the sort of museum and heritage sites that you are interested in.

You may will like I did that there is quite a bit of potential overlap where general, aviation, maritime and transport museums all likely have machinery exhibits that may interest you as well as the primary interest of industrial museums which the UK has a plenty.

You know we will expect you to come back and post an extensive travelogue.