Family-friendly day trips in North Cumbria this May half-term
Stagecoach has recommended a range of family day trips in North Cumbria this May half-term, all accessible by bus.
The company offers free travel for up to three children under five with a paying adult.
Children aged five to 15 can travel at a reduced fare, and other fares are capped at £3.
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, in Castle Street, Carlisle, is hosting drop-in craft sessions from May 27 to June 1, from 1pm to 4pm, inspired by the launch of the Tullie's Carlisle Gallery last month.
The gallery celebrates the city's nature, people, and Roman and industrial histories.
The sessions, which include textile printing, egg carton whales, and felt biscuit fridge magnets, are included with an adult day ticket, with children going free.
Carlisle Cathedral (Image: Supplied) Carlisle Cathedral is offering Angels' View Tours on Friday, May 30, from 11.30am to 3.30pm.
The tour provides a fresh view of the building, including its medieval stained glass in the East Window and starry ceiling.
The tour includes steps and confined spaces, with adults paying £5 and children up to the age of 16 going free.
The Sands Centre swimming pool (Image: Supplied) Cumberland Council's 10p swims for schoolchildren are back.
Kids up to age 16 are eligible at public pools across the county.
For more information, see each pool's website.
Vue Cinema, Botchergate (Image: Supplied) Vue Cinema, in Botchergate, Carlisle, is showing the animated film Dog Man for its 10am Mighty Mornings screenings.
Children aged four to 11 and their parents can watch for £2.49 each.
Dog Man is on from Saturday, May 24, to Thursday, May 29.
Cumbria Museum of Military Life (Image: Supplied) Cumbria's Museum of Military Life, at Carlisle Castle, is hosting its Military Festival on Saturday, May 31, and Sunday, June 1, from 10am to 4.30pm.
The festival includes re-enactments, demonstrations, insights into the modern army, and historic vehicles.
Normal admission applies, which includes family tickets that allow entry for up to two adults and three children for £12.95.
In Silloth, the Victorian seaside town offers a town green with a woodland children's play area and water splash pad, plus two free quirky little museums.
The Silloth Motorcycle Museum and Soldiers in Silloth, with its collection of 6,000 toy soldiers, are both open to the public.
Kingmoor Sidings Nature Reserve, in Kingmoor Road, Carlisle, is a 22-acre space featuring easy walking trails through woods and beside ponds.
Children can look out for water snails, bugs, and beetles.
You can even find the remains of a turntable for steam engines and the old engine shed floors.
Owned by Cumberland Council, the reserve is perfect for a relaxing couple of hours' exploring and a picnic.
Hammonds pond (Image: Supplied) Hammonds Pond, in Upperby Park, Carlisle, is a popular Carlisle park with play areas, football pitches, a miniature railway track, and a café.
If you go on Bank Holiday Monday, it's Upperby Gala from 1pm to 4pm, with stalls, forest skills tasters, sports sessions, archery, food and refreshments, face painting, the police and fire service, and more.
Even better, entry is free.
Acorn Bank, Temple Sowerby, Penrith, is a mile's walk from the Temple Sowerby bus stop.
The National Trust-run site is known for its herb gardens and fruit orchards.
Children will enjoy the working water wheel that runs each weekend, and adults might like the vintage book sale from May 24 to 26, from 10.30am to 4pm, and herb garden and industrial heritage tours.
The café is open each day except for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday during half-term week.
Bitts Park, Carlisle, offers ramps for skaters, the Splash Park water feature, play areas, and playing fields.
The park is just beside Carlisle Castle, so you could visit with the children after taking in one of Carlisle's attractions.
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San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
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At this museum, no one will shush you, and you can touch the objects
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Not a hushed temple of art, this is a working facility. Conversation is encouraged and forklifts beep in the background. Workers are finishing the David Bowie Center, a home for the late London-born musician's archive of costumes, musical instruments, letters, lyrics and photos that is due to open at the Storehouse in September. Museums seek transparency One aim of the Storehouse is to expose the museum's inner workings, through displays delving into all aspects of the conservators' job – from the eternal battle against insects to the numbering system for museum contents — and a viewing gallery to watch staff at work. The increased openness comes as museums in the U.K. are under increasing scrutiny over the origins of their collections. They face pressure to return objects acquired in sometimes contested circumstances during the days of the British Empire Senior curator Georgia Haseldine said the V&A is adopting a policy of transparency, 'so that we can talk very openly about where things have come from, how they ended up in the V&A's collection, and also make sure that researchers, as well as local people and people visiting from all around the world, have free and equitable access to these objects. 'On average, museums have one to five percent of their collections on show,' she said. 'What we're doing here is saying, 'No, this whole collection belongs to all of us. This is a national collection and you should have access to it.' That is our fundamental principle.'
