Salford Museum and Art Gallery

It’s our October half term this week and Daddy has a few days off work so we’ve been looking for some new days out. We decided to have a trip to Salford Museum and Art Gallery, it’s somewhere we haven’t visited before.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery was the UK ‘s first free public library which opened in 1850, followed by a museum and art gallery. The building was once a mansion house known as Lark Hill built in the 1790’s.

There’s a pay and display car park right outside, plus public transport links very close by. Admission to the museum and gallery is free to everyone and is great for families.

We were welcomed by a very friendly member of staff who gave us a map of the museum. She told us about the kids activity trail that my son could do and he was definitely excited. The trail is £2 and you get a pack of crayons , a trail booklet and a sticker once you have completed the trail.

We headed upstairs to start the trail. I would say that the art gallery was a little ‘grown up’ for my two year old twins. The large spacious rooms gave my twins the idea they could run around like wild animals. Before daddy got too stressed, I kept them entertained by looking at the pictures on the walls and we tried to spot dogs, cats and other things that would keep their attention.

Joshua on the other hand (he’s 6) really enjoyed the art gallery. He loves a trail, just like his mum. Him and daddy read the questions and searched high and low for the answers. The trail was great, asking my son to draw things, search for things; it really kept his attention and interest.

We headed back downstairs where we saw the café. It’s a lovely bright space, we spotted the cakes from the stairs and all decided we were hungry! We found a seat and ordered the three children a kids box. These seemed excellent value for money. The sandwiches were made fresh to order, each child got a drink (the twins had a juice carton and Joshua got a hot chocolate!), a packet of crisps and a piece of fruit. Me and my husband both had the soup of the day which was homemade potato and leek soup which was delicious! After a hot drink and a cake (yummy) we headed onto Lark Hill Place, a Victorian Street.

Well, this was fantastic and the kids loved it! Joshua had one question off his quiz left but there were several other quizzes to do, so we did them all! The kids had a great time, we spent ages here. There was plenty of things to do including dressing up! The street was really interesting, even my two year olds enjoyed it. We walked up and down the cobbled street, looking at the Victorian cars and shops. They loved looking at the old toy shop and pub. Joshua was really interested in the old houses and looking at how different life is nowadays! There staff were on hand to answer questions and help Joshua with the quizzes when he needed it.

We had a lovely time at Salford Museum and Art gallery, we probably spent about 3 hours there. We will definitely visit again soon! More information can be found here.

Looking for more local days out? We recently visited Ordsall Hall in Salford which was another great family trip, well worth a visit.