The Museum of English Rural Life

1. Really lovely museum. Entry is free (donation requested by signs only, no one put any pressure on us to donate). Interesting displays about traditional English rural life. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Beautiful garden and a lovely café. Well worth a visit!

2. Small museum which only takes a couple hours to explore. Very family friendly with a rat search and some games along the way. The outdoor area was very nice with a chicken and a tractor setup that the kids could also enjoy. Nice place for a picnic if you want to stay for lunch. Recommend if your visiting reading with kids.

3. Decent free museum located in university of reading, it details “countryside” life from when horses were primarily used to the introduction of the combustion engine. It doesn’t just talk about farming, it also covers life in the countryside, changing lifestyles, etc. It’s a really dedicated museum as they have far more stuff than space to display. It could do with more activities that are kid friendly, but overall it was pretty interesting. There is a row of parking spaces directly adjoining the building, there are also spaces on the opposite side which you’ll need a permit from the university. I walked from the Oracle, it took about 17 mins so if you’re in the town centre it’s not that far. Recommended.

4. It’s a very charming museum. We’ve been going with our three girls (now 16, 13, 12) for years. The museum’s focus is, of course, on rural life – tractors, farming, food production, etc, which may not strike one as gripping at first blush, but it’s endlessly interesting. The exhibits are pitched at different levels, so there’s stuff for wee ones (tractors to climb on, little games, displays, games, events in the large garden) to grown-ups (informative displays and analysis). My teens still find it interesting.

   The cafe is great– whoever is making their cinnamon buns is an evil genius– and the costs are very reasonable.

   We spent an hour there at our last visit. This is probably right for a follow-on visit.

5. I visited here on a Friday morning around 10am. I parked my motorcycle in the car park by the entrance. At the time I got there, both disabled bays were free and several regular parking bays were free too.

   Entry is free, although there is a sign requesting a suggested donation of £5 if you feel like it.

   The museum is fully accessible with an automatic entry door operated by a plunger. The main museum displays are at ground level with a disabled, multi use toilet available at the far end near the lift. The lift goes up one floor and was where Mums were taking their children.

   The main display was Wagon Walk;a large collection of restored wagons and carts dating from the 1700s up to the mid 1900s. There’s plenty of information available to read, but the display was a bit cramped and half wasn’t well lit either making it difficult to appreciate the finer points of the display.

   On the next section I came to were descriptions of the life and achievements of farmers and farm labourers, both at work and in the home. Here were displayed tractors, a threshing machine and an early Land Rover amongst others and artifacts used in rural life.

   The last section describes the work done in each season and includes descriptions of why they were done that way.

   Finally there is a comfortable coffee shop and gift shop by the entrance/exit and you may also go outside into the garden.

   Overall an interesting experience and worth a visit. Time spent was around 75 minutes.

Comments are closed.