After a last-minute cancellation of our booking by the Museum, which had postponed our originally planned visit, our intrepid members finally made it to Yorkshire in early June.
The Museum is built around what had been a working pit in the Yorkshire coalfield, between Wakefield and Huddersfield. There was less grumpiness when we realized that, as a National Museum, entry is free, but we did take part in an underground tour, for which there is a donation.
The museum is staffed mainly by volunteers who all worked in mining before retirement, there being no substitute for hands-on experience. A degree of fitness is needed for the underground tour, and along the route we passed a large amount of abandoned machinery, left as it was on the day the pit closed.
Another interesting visit, and the motorway was running well on the day of our visit. There are a lot of interesting buildings and displays to see, and the museum is worth more than one visit.
On the way, we passed the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, also well worth a visit. This is a huge site, with outdoor sculptures by famous artists such as Henry Moore and also short-term exhibitions.
