Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Excellent for a rainy day . NOT boring . |
| Disadvantages: |
£ 21 for a family of 4(under 5 free) |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
MILESTONES LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM
So what's different about it?
Imagine a massive outdoor museum of old buildings, industrial machinery, shops, vehicles etc. but inside, in the warm - you never get wet! There are hardly any boring boards of endless stuff to read. Everything is on a handset that you control yourself by following the numbers aroiund the museum.
I guarentee both adults and children will love it.
LOCATION
Basingstoke, Hampshire. Easy to find. Just off junction 6 of the M3. You get on the ringroad around Basingstoke and go in a circle until you see it. It looks like an enourmous, modern aircraft hangar. Parking plentiful and free.
COST
Adult £7.25 OAP/Students £6.50
Child £4.25 Under 5s FREE
Family £21.00
Annual passes are available at double the entrance cost so excellent value for local families.
The girl on reception was very pleasant and helpful.
ON ARRIVAL
You can see the museum from the gallery above and have to go down 2 levels to walk around. Lift available. At the second reception point you will be given a paper guide to the museum and an audio handset. It is very easy to operate and my 7 year old had no trouble.
THE EXHIBITS
The museum starts in Victorian times and as you walk through the streets you are taken forward in time to the 1930's. All of the exhibits are from Hampshire and although they are of local interest they reflect the changes in social and economic history that happened throughout England.
The buildings of shops, houses and industries have either been moved here (brick by brick) or recreated from the origional. There are hands on activities for children, a sweet shop selling sweets, Victorian clothes for the whole family to try on, staff dressed up in period costume to answer questions, people making things in the workshops etc.
When we were there the children had a Victorian school lesson complete with costumes and slates to write on. The actors were excellent and it lasted about half an hour.
There was a steam engine, trams,cars etc. A saw mill............. Too much to describe as the details on the exhibits were excellent, right down to the birds on the rooftops.
DID WE ENJOY OURSELVES?
The children absolutely loved it. It was safe for them to wander around with their handsets and explore. They particularly liked the shops with windows full of exhibits, and of course the school lesson and dressing up.
We found it really interesting and a relaxing 3 hours out with the family. If you don't like museums where everything is behind glass cases with boards and boards of written infomation then this is for you.
I noticed that there was a very wide variety of people there from young couples through to OAPs and I can't think who it wouldn't appeal to.
DISABLED FACILITIES
The whole museum is fully accessible for wheel chairs. In fact there were quite a few when we visited and I noticed that all of the curbs on the streets had ramps. There was also a disabled toilet.
When we visited there was a large group of deaf people being given a guided tour with a member of staff and a signer.
WHAT ELSE?
The cafe was excellent. It was manned by people of , shall we say, more mature years. They were cheerful and friendly, nothing was too much trouble. The hot food looked very good but we just had a sandwich - overpriced but ok. I wish I'd had the cottage pie now.
The shop is full of the usual souvenir fare. Lots of cheap stuff for children. The book section was very good though and relevant to the museum.
The toilet I used was basic but clean.
Outside the museum there are a variety of cafes and restaurants all with free parking.
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
