Lancashire Mining Museum CIO

What it’s like

Wander round a real colliery site with a 98ft headgear to gawp at, colliery cottages and a miner's canteen to poke round, all free to get in.

The big thing here is the headgear, a lattice steel structure standing 98ft up, which is the sort of thing that looks small in a photo and rather less small when you're stood underneath it. You can also get round the winding engine, wander through the colliery cottages and see what a miner's canteen actually looked like, with interactive exhibits dotted about to stop it turning into a straight walk-and-look.

It's free to get in, which is worth knowing before you plan the rest of the day, because it means you can treat it as a couple of hours rather than a whole outing you need to justify. The site itself calls it a wonderful couple of hours, and that feels about right for taking in the headgear, the cottages and the exhibits without rushing.

It's an outdoor site, so a dry day makes it a much better plan than a wet one. Opening is limited to Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, 1pm to 5pm, so this isn't one you can just turn up to on a whim on a Monday. The Pit Whistle Tea Rooms are there for drinks and a light snack, and if you fancy the special Afternoon Tea Events they run, it's best to book ahead for those.

Facilities

Need to know

How long to allow

A wonderful couple of hours

Food

The Pit Whistle Tea Rooms serving drinks and light snacks

• Free entry, no booking needed for a normal visit
• Only open four days a week, 1pm to 5pm
• It's an outdoor site so check the weather before you go
• Afternoon Tea Events at the tea rooms need pre-booking

Plan your visit

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