North West Museums : Free Entry

Whether you want to see an original Picasso, check out the oldest FA Cup trophy or find out about forensics, we have all it all here in our wonderful North West museums, the following of which are all FREE...

You really don't need to travel very far to be a culture-vulture. Manchester, Liverpool, Salford and the environs are teeming with art, history, science - whatever your bag, you're going to find it in one our free museums. Whether it's a day out with the kids or a change from the usual weekend activities, you can't far wrong here in the North West.

Particular favourites of Didsbury Life would have to be Tate Liverpool, MOSI & Lady Lever Art Gallery in the beautiful Wirral village of Port Sunlight. If you've never been there, that's worth a trip on its own!

So - a round up & details of museums. Please note this is not intended to be a comprehensive list and you are advised to check details with individual musuems.

BOLTON MUSEUM, ART GALLERY & AQUARIUM - Tel: 01204 332211

Opening times : Monday - Saturday 9.00am - 5.00pm, Closed - Every Sunday

The museum houses the following exhibitions - archaeology, art, botany, egyptology, entomology, geology, social history and zoology.

http://www.boltonmuseums.org.uk

GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE MUSEUM & ARCHIVES - Tel : 0161 856 3287/4500 57a Newton Street, Manchester M1 1ET

Opening times : Tuesdays (and Thursdays during the school holidays) 10.30am - 3.30pm (last admission at 3pm) Other weekdays by appointment only for privately booked groups/ schools/ archive enquiries. Closed weekends and public holidays.

Explore Manchester’s hidden past - a labyrinth of alleyways and slums, interrupted only by the huge mills casting shadows below. An eerie underworld, lit by gas lamps where police officers were kept busy apprehending unsavoury characters of all ages. The Greater Manchester Police Museum and Archives enables you to experience what life was really like for these officers in a busy Victorian police station. You’ll also see how times have changed and how policing has evolved to meet today’s needs.

www.gmp.police.uk/museum

HARRIS MUSEUM & ART GALLERY, PRESTON Tel : 01772 258248 Market Square, Preston PR1 2PP

Opening times : Monday - Saturday 10.00am - 5.00pm, except Tuesday 11.00am - 5.00pm

The museum offers collections of fine and decorative art, a contemporary art show and a range of artefacts.

www.harrismuseum.org.uk

IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM NORTH : Tel 0161 836 4000 The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Trafford Park M17 1TZ

Opening times : Monday - Sunday. 1 Mar-1 Nov: 10am-6pm, 2 Nov-28 Feb: 10am-5pm.

Museum dedicated to revealing the impact of war on individual lives, with a 360 degree sound and light show, family activities and tours.

http://north.iwm.org.uk

INTERNATIONAL SLAVERY MUSEUM : Tel 0151 478 4499 Dock Traffic Office, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AX

Opening times : Monday - Sunday 10.00am-5.00pm. Closed 25-26 Dec & 1 Jan.

Liverpool-based museum narrating the international slave trade from approximately 1500 to 1865, looking at slavery today and in the past.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism

LADY LEVER ART GALLERY : Tel 0151 478 4136 POrt Sunlight Village, Wirral CH62 5EQ

Opening times : Monday - Sunday 10.00am - 5.00pm. Closed 25-26 Dec & 1 Jan.

Wirral-based museum with lots to see, including paintings, furniture, tapestries, sculpture, Chinese collections and more.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever

LANCASTER CITY MUSEUM : Tel 01772 534061 Stanley Street, Preston PR1 4YP

Opening times : Monday - Saturday 10.00am - 5.00pm. Closed Sunday, Christmas & New Year.

Museum dedicated to Lancaster's diverse history, from the Roman era onwards. Also contains a range of landscapes and portraits.

http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/acs/sites/museums/index.asp

MERSEYSIDE MARITIME MUSEUM : Tel 0151 478 4499 Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AQ

Opening times : Monday - Sunday 10.00am - 5.00pm. Closed 25-26 December & 1 January.

Museum exploring the history of the port with lots to see, including objects from wrecks, ships, boats, paintings and uniforms.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

MUSEUM OF THE MANCHESTER REGIMENT : Tel 0161 342 2254 Ashton Town Hall, MArket Place, Ashton-Under-Lyne OL6 6DL

Opening Times : Monday - Sunday 10.00am - 4.00pm daily

This museum narrates the varied history of the Manchester Regiment soldiers, taking visitors from 1756 to 1958.

http://www.tameside.gov.uk/museumsgalleries/mom

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY : Tel 0161 832 2244 Lierpool Road, Manchester M3 4FP

Opening times : Every day 10.00am - 5.00pm, excluding 24th - 26th December & 1 January.

Museum narrating Manchester's industrial and scientific history, located in five listed buildings with a wide range of collections.

http://www.mosi.org.uk

NATIONAL CONSERVATION CENTRE : Tel 0151 478 4999 Whitechapel, Liverpool L1 6HZ

Opening times : Monday - Sunday 10.00am - 5.00pm. Closed 25th - 26th December & 1 January.

Liverpool-based museum with a variety of different collections, using scientific investigation to reveal the narratives behind the artifacts.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/conservation

PEOPLE'S HISTORY MUSEUM : Left Bank, Spinningfields, Manchester

Opening times : Monday - Sunday 10.00am - 5.00pm. Closed 24th, 25th & 26th December, 1st January & Good Friday.

Museum with nearly one and a half thousand artefacts from throughout history. Displays the most trade union and other banners in the world.

http://www.phm.org.uk

PORTLAND BASIN MUSEUM : Tel 0161 343 2878 Portland Place, Ashton-Under-Lyne OL7 0QA

Opening times : Tuesday - Sunday 10.00am - 5.00pm. Closed Mondays.

Museum allowing visitors to experience the region's industrial, farming and mining past. Especially suitable for families.

http://www.tameside.gov.uk/portlandbasin

SUDLEY HOUSE : Tel 0151 724 3245 Mossley Hill Road, Aigburth, Liverpool L18 8BX

Opening times : Monday - Sunday 10.0am - 5.00pm. Closed 25th - 26th December & 1 January.

Liverpool-based former-home of a Victorian merchant, complete with period furniture and original paintings.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/sudley

TATE LIVERPOOL : Tel 0151 702 7400 Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4BB

Opening times : September - May: Tuesday - Sunday 10.00am - 5.50pm. June - August : Monday - Sunday 10.00am - 5.50pm.

One of the UK's four Tate museums, the Tate Liverpool shows pieces from the Tate collection, as well as special contemporary exhibitions.

http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool

THE MANCHESTER MUSEUM : Tel 0161 275 2634 Oxford Road, Manchester

Opening times : Tuesday - Saturday : 10.00am -5.00pm; Sunday, Monday & Bank Holidays :11.00am - 4.00pm; 27th - 31st December 11.00am - 4.00pm; 24th - 26th December & 1 January : Closed

Situated in the University of Manchester, this large museum has fifteen galleries with artefacts from across the globe.

http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk

THE QUEEN'S LANCASHIRE REGIMENT : Tel 01772 260362 Fulwood Barracks, Preston PR2 8AA

Opening times : Tuesday - Saturday 10.00am - 4.00pm [other times by appointment]

The displays, archive and military history library narrate the story of the Regiment from 1689 to the 21st Century.

http://www.qlrmuseum.co.uk/TheMuseum.htm

WALKER ART GALLERY : Tel 0151 478 4199 William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EL

Opening times : Monday - Sunday 10.00am - 5.00pm. Closed 25th -26th December & 1 January.

Liverpool-based attraction with galleries for temporary exhibitions, 17th century galleries and more.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker

WORLD MUSEUM LIVERPOOL : Tel 0151 478 4393 William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EL

Opening times : Monday - Sunday 10.00am - 5.00pm. Closed 25th-26th December & 1 January.

Museum with a collection of artifacts from across the globe, with a bug house, a theatre, an aquarium and a planetarium.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wm