For many years Ollie and I had passed by The National Tramway Museum and every time we made a plan to visit.
Finally after 8 years we made our very first visit with the boys and my parents this summer. We are based in Nottinghamshire and the Tramway Museum is based just over the border in Derbyshire.
Before going we checked online and discovered that they host lots of events throughout the year, however on our trip there was no other attractions on but we did notice that its free return admission within 12 months so you can visit again in the same 12 month period which offers exceptional value for money.
Parking was great and there seemed to be plenty of it. We met my parents there and headed on in. Joshua had been before a school trip and my Mum had visited when my brother was really small (so around 30 years previously)
The attraction was well laid out with things to do spread out over the length of the tram tracks. On the day we went there were 3 different trams offering rides up and down the attraction with stop offs on route.
When we paid to get in we were given some old traditional pennies to ‘pay’ for our fare on the trams which the kids thought was fantastic.
There is a onsite museum that offers a really in-depth history as to how trams came about and the journeys they took across the UK cities. It made for interesting reading see how mail moved up and down the UK on trams not so long ago!
We hopped aboard our first tram of the day and took it to the top and stayed on and went down to the bottom before heading for a drink.
Next we walked into the shops and buildings dotted around before heading into the tram shed where lots and lots of beautifully detailed trams and vehicles were stored.
The boys needed to let off some steam so we let them loose in the small in door play area for a little while and then headed back onto tram to near the top and climbed off to start our woodland walk.
Both Joshua and Jacob were thrilled with the discoveries in the trees, from trolls under the bridge to wizards and even a giant sword in a stone ripe for the lifting!
On the woodland walk there was even a clearing with a maze and carved mushroom seats with the most spectacular view.
Before heading for some food we stopped off at the super play park but with the boys hunger taking hold we headed back to the main parade of shops and attractions and headed into the little coffee shop for pies and sausage rolls and a drink.
Obviously no real trip out is complete unless the kids get ice cream and thanks to Grandad and Effie they boys got that!
It was such a lovely day. Finally getting to spend some quality time with my parents and also at a really lovely place.
Here’s hoping there are many more like this to come.
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