You know when you just wander in to somewhere, completely unplanned and find an amazing gem you have to share with everyone as its that good? That’s me right now about Skidby Mill Museum!
We actually started off with a trip to the new play park at Skidby Millhouse restaurant. Which is lovely!
Here’s how to find it:
It’s one of those sturdy wooden parks that feel robust enough even for adults. This is a private park though so only for Millhouse restaurant customers.
After a play we realised that the restaurant wasn’t actually open! So we went for a wander towards the mill itself.
That’s when we came across the Sails cafe.
On entering the cafe we spotted a million cakes to choose from, free wifi, spacious toilets and toys! Lots of toys! The boys made an immediate bee line for the train set and enjoyed a glass of chocolate milk each whilst they played. A children’s menu is available as well as picnic baskets made to order. The cafe is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm. (Not open on Bank Holidays).
After a quick pit stop at Sails cafe we walked across the courtyard towards the mill.
As you can see the opening times are limited being only Saturday to Tuesday so we were lucky to find it open when we did!
And admission was a bargain seen as I only had to pay for myself! Normally I use my student discount wherever I go but I was happy to pay £2.50 for the upkeep of the museum.
Once I paid, but before we could get started, of course we needed to make a toilet stop and I was pleased to see how spacious and clean the baby changing facilities were.
After the toilet trip we were allocated small hessian bags for the boys which contained little items to help them discover the museum. You can also borrow an Outdoor Discovery Pack to help you explore the garden – suitable for children aged 4 and up. A refundable deposit is taken for this.
There was also a bee trail competition for us to enter for free so we kept a tally of how many bees we spotted around the museum too. don’t worry, they’re not real!
Inside the museum there is soooo much for kids to do. It is totally interactive and kept their attention throughout.
There were colouring sheets and giant jigsaws.
Then we tried out building a farm and learning about the role animals had at a mill.
We then learnt about construction and built our own walls. Well, tried to build a wall at least! Thankfully the bricks are soft foam. Because, boys…
And finally we went upstairs to see how the flour is actually milled.
On Heritage Open Days you can even climb to the very top of Skidby Mill and see all the inner workings! The next open day is:
Saturday 14 September: 1000-1230 and 1300-1700
Sunday 15 September: 1000-1230 and 1300-1700
For more information click here.
We had such a lovely time and could easily spend a long half day playing in the park, going around the museum and grabbing a bite to eat in Sails cafe.
Take a tub for brambling if you do go in Autumn too! There’s also loads of opportunities to collect pinecones as well.
