An enjoyable and enthusiastically presented tour of the world of automated music.
Having lived locally for many years, my previous impression of the Musical Museum was that it was never busy and a bit dull.
How wrong I was.
Included in the entry fee (£11 adult, £5 child, £25 family) is a guided tour. I joined the first tour a bit late, but was welcomed in. There were around 20 people there, which surprised me.
The volunteer tour guide was wonderful. Enthusiastic, friendly, informative, presenting plenty of interesting facts and explanations, without ever losing the visitor's interest.
The museum is a collection of automated musical machines from about the 1700s to modern day. That also, I didn't expect.
Many of the machines are in full working order and the tour includes plenty of interesting demonstrations. Again, these were never too long, but sufficient to get a real idea of the machines capabilities and range.
The tour takes between 45 - 50 minutes. It finishes upstairs in the auditorium with a demonstration of an original Wurlitzer cinematic organ.
Visitors are then free to explore the museum themselves, or visit the café on same floor.
If, like me, you missed the start of the tour, you can join the next one. I did this and again, there were around 20 people. I only had to wait just over five minutes for the same guide to start the next tour. I'm glad I did because I'd missed some interesting demonstrations.
The whole building is very modern, fully accessible and step free. If you don't want to use the lift, there's stairs between the floors.
Parking is limited to around 11 spaces, plus two spaces for disabled visitors.
A very worthwhile place to visit.