If you are looking for things to do and places to visit in Berkshire, there is an abundance of museums and historical attractions that can provide a perfect day out.
One thing you can be certain of when staying in Berkshire is that you are never far away from a museum or historical attraction.
Here we look at some of Berkshire’s most popular museums and historical sites to visit and explore with the family or on your own.
It is impossible not to fall in love with the rolling English countryside with its picture-perfect hills, fields, woods and rivers.
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) examines the history of the English countryside and its inhabitants over the centuries and is suitable for visitors of all ages.
The site in Redlands Road contains galleries, exhibitions and collections depicting how life has developed in rural England down the years. Activities and workshops are held in the beautiful gardens which are also a great place to relax or picnic during the summer months.
Address:
6 Redlands Road
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 5EX
Opening hours:
Tues – Fri (9am-5pm)
Sat – Sun (10am-5pm) during University of Reading term time.
Admission:
Free
Refreshments:
Yes
Windsor & Royal Borough Museum is family-friendly, fully accessible and located within Windsor’s Grade I listed Guildhall.
It contains a 70-year-old collection of over 13,000 objects representing the royal town’s local and social history and includes everything from Stone Age flints to Roman tiles to First World War letters. It also boasts one of the best oral history collections in the South East.
The collection was started in 1951 for the Festival of Britain. The museum moved to its current, permanent home in 2011 when it was officially opened by the late Queen Elizabeth II, whose official residence included nearby Windsor Castle.
Address:
The Guildhall
High Street
Windsor
Berkshire
SL4 1LR
Opening hours:
Wed – Sun (10am-4pm)
Admission:
Free
Refreshments:
No
Parking:
Victoria Street, Windsor Great Park, River Street
Access:
Wheelchair accessible
Closest Berkshire Rooms Location:
West Berkshire Museum is located in two of Newbury’s most historic buildings – the 17th Century Cloth Hall and the old Granary/Corn Stores in the Wharf. close to the town centre.
A permanent exhibition examines the key historical events that shaped the region from the First Battle of Newbury in 1643 to the more recent anti-nuclear Greenham Common protests.
Special exhibitions run simultaneously, and current topics include a focus on nearby Thatcham with its prehistoric links plus Hope and Pride which coincides with Newbury’s first Pride event.
Both museum sites are close to the Kennet and Avon Canal and are a short walk from Newbury railway station and town centre bus stops and there are also plenty of pay-and-display car parks.
Address:
The Wharf
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 5AS
Opening hours:
Wed – Sun (10am-4pm)
Admission:
Free
Refreshments:
Yes
Parking:
Kennet Centre, West Street Pay & Display, Newbury Library Car Park.
Access:
Wheelchair accessible
Closest Berkshire Rooms Location:
Did you know Britain has its own, full-size Bayeux Tapestry? A complete, 70-metre-long replica embroidered in 1885 is housed in Reading Museum in the heart of the town centre. It is just one of many spectacular artifacts on display which also include important archaeological finds from the Roman town of Calleva near Silchester.
Visitors can explore the Huntley & Palmers Gallery which chronicles the world-famous biscuit maker who gave Reading its ‘Biscuit Town’ identity and the Sir John Madejski Gallery with its changing programme of temporary exhibitions.
Reading Museum is based in Reading Town Hall. A short walk away you will find the Riverside Museum at Blake’s Lock and its focus on the history of town’s two rivers – the Kennet and the Thames. Also nearby is the town’s 900-year-old Abbey Quarter with its royal abbey ruins and burial site of King Henry I.
Address:
Blagrave Street
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 1QH
Opening hours:
Tues – Fri (10am-4pm)
Sat (10am-5pm)
Admission:
Free
Refreshments:
Yes
Parking:
The Oracle Shopping Centre, Broad Street Mall, King’s Meadow Car Park.
Access:
Wheelchair accessible
Closest Berkshire Rooms Location:
The Museum of Berkshire Aviation is packed with information and exhibits detailing Berkshire’s important contribution to aviation history. This charitable trust is situated on the historic site of Woodley Airfield between Reading and Maidenhead which was once the centre of a thriving aircraft industry.
Many of the aircraft on display were built by Miles Aircraft, which was based on the site from 1932 to 1947, while others were made by Handley Page and Fairey Aviation. One of the star attractions is the Miles Student, the only two-seat, side-by-side jet trainer ever built.
Admission costs £4 adults and £3 children and senior citizens. A family ticket (two adults and up to three children) costs £10 and discounts are given for group visits.
Opening times vary during summer and winter months so it’s best to check on the museum website before you start your journey.
Address:
Mohawk Way
Woodley
Reading
Berkshire
RG5 4UE
Opening hours:
Late March – late Oct: (Wed, Sat, Sun, Bank Holidays 10.30am-5pm). Rest of year: Wed (10.30am-4pm) and Sun (12pm-4pm)
Admission:
Adults £4, Concessions £3
Refreshments:
Yes
Parking:
Free on-site parking, Dinton Pastures.
Access:
Wheelchair accessible
Closest Berkshire Rooms Location:
The Maidenhead Heritage Centre is an accredited museum which explores the rich and varied history of the market town of Maidenhead, situated on the River Thames.
Founded in 1933 by Maidenhead Civic Society and Maidenhead Historical and Archaeological Society, the heritage centre has artifacts from Stone Age and Roman times right through to the items relating to recent Hammer Horror films and their links to the area.
The centre also charts the history of the area’s Air Transport Auxiliary, a civilian organisation founded at the outbreak of World War II to support the RAF and Royal Navy. There are vintage cars to see as well as a Spitfire Simulator Experience allowing you to sample what it was like to fly the famous fighter plane.
Address:
18 Park Street
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 1SL
Opening hours:
Tues – Sat (10am-4pm)
Admission:
Free (except for Grandma Flew Spitfires exhibition and Spitfire Simulator Experience)
Refreshments:
Yes
Parking:
Grove Road Car Park, Nicholsons Car Park
Access:
Wheelchair accessible
Closest Berkshire Rooms Location:
Maidenhead or Slough
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