Kelly

Exploring the fascinating exhibits at The Dock Museum in Barrow in Furness

We came across The Dock Museum when we were in Barrow recently and it is such a gem. We absolutely loved it and found it fascinating.

It is such a modern building considering it is sitting on a Victorian Dry Dock, it is super pretty inside with the growth of plants on the levels going up the wall. The museum is home to objects from the industrial history of the area and some pretty surprising items can be seen here too.

Find out all about the heritage with the spectacular cave finds, Viking coins and other goodies, Victorian life in the area, WW2 and lots more including some pretty spectacular model ships. I can't believe the size of some of them and the details. You can also watch some films about the local area.

We spent around an hour in the museum, we did arrive later in the day and we could have easily spent longer if you read everything. The staff were lovely and there's also a cute little gift shop. I love the Viking section, I just find it all fascinating and as a coin collector myself I did locate the amazing coin collection as soon as I walked into the display.

The museum consists of 3 floors but only 2 are accessible (looks like the bottom floor is what looks like office space) The Main floor houses all of the exhibits and the other floor houses the temporary exhibitions. I would recommend purchasing the guide book to find out lots more about this gem of a museum.

I love how they have a school loan system in place, which means local schools can hire a box from a certain topic and it contains interesting objects. This was started in 1914 and is still going today!

Good to know

The museum is free to enter which is such a rare find these days and it is totally worth visiting if you are in the area. You can leave a donation in the box if you want to (suggested donation of £2)

The museum is fully accessible

Open Wednesday -Sunday 11-4

Parking is free for up to 3 hours and they do have charging points for electric vehicles

Play area

Cafe

Toilets and changing facilities on site

You could also enjoy the lovely Channelside walk which is part of the Cumbria Coastal route. We did walk a little of this and it is very picturesque.