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On what was due to be a rainy day in the Summer Holidays we decided to spend the morning at Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum near Keswick in the Lake District.
To be honest I wasn’t expecting very much from Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum, but my Mother in Law assured me that the girls would find it fun – and she was right.
Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum is open daily from 10am-5pm from Easter until October. It is situated three miles east of Keswick, in the heart of the breathtaking Lake District in Cumbria, but when we visited in the middle of the Summer holidays it was very very quiet.
The quarry and museum is lovingly (and enthusiastically) run by knowledgeable and dedicated staff and the site continues to expand. We hadn’t booked so the mining tours were already sold out for the day (they do get booked up quickly so book ahead of you are going) however as someone who is very claustrophobic I was secretly very pleased about this fact!
We arrived just before 11am just as the train was due to head out for a 20/35 minute journey so we quickly paid up for that and set off. The train is £3 per adult and £1.50 per child under 16. It was a nice little journey although I missed the chat in the middle whilst the train turns around to head back whilst ‘discussing behaviour’ with my eldest!
The kids enjoyed the steam train though and the chap who sat at the back of the train was lovely to the kids, letting them wave the flag and answering countless questions.
What however made the day for us was panning for gold. Just £3 per pan and the kids were happy for over an hour and a half searching the river bed for gems. Whilst we were there there were kids between 2 and 12 happily all enjoying this activity too! They found not just gold but little pieces of coloured gems too and came away with pots full each.
It was an unexpected find and the kids want to go back next time we are in the Lakes!
Add to that ample free parking, a shop that sells pocket money friendly gifts and hot and cold drinks for 50p and you have a great morning/afternoon out.
NB: We paid for our trip and were not in any way asked to write this review.
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Sounds a great find and gold too!!
It’s nice when the kids get really stuck into a simple activity like the panning! I know mine would love it, we’ll have to add this place to our list for next time we are in the lakes!