With excellent transport links to Kent, Sussex and London the choice of museums will satisfy almost any area of interest.
- Woodchurch Village
Ideal for a half-day comparative locality study, worksheets and discovery trail available.
Optional extras include:- Village Life Museum (£1 per pupil donation) Wheelchair access. Newly furbished museum History of village with artefacts from Bronze Age to present day, big section on WW2. Audio records. Transport collection. Run by volunteers. Guided talk available, quiz. Limited gift shop. See www.woodchurchmuseum.com Highly recommended – excellent value.
- Windmill (£1 per pupil donation) A recently refurbished C 18th Kentish smock mill. Guided visits inside the mill are possible by prior arrangement with volunteers. www.woodchurchwindmill.co.uk.
The village also has a C13th church, a large green and wonderful examples of historical homes. WC in car park, children’s playground. Suitable for a half-day visit – take half the class morning/afternoon, combined with a choice of on-site activities for the rest of the group. Also suitable for a longer visit with a packed lunch. 15 mins drive
Continue reading → - Smallhythe Place (National Trust)
(Can also travel by foot from Kench Hill across country).
Home of Ellen Terry, Edwardian actress (1899-1928). Display of old theatrical costumes. Early Tudor house, former Port House for local shipyard. Gardens, Thatched Barn theatre. Quiz, trail. WC’s. Open March-October only. Limited wheelchair access (ground floor and gardens only).
Cost: FREE entry + minibus costs
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More Info: www.nationaltrust.org.uk - Rye
Picturesque cobbled streets, mediaeval houses and a walled citadel make Rye unique, an old Cinque Port now marooned away from the sea. Follow a fun trail to focus observation and provoke curiosity. A convenient half-day stop in combination with Camber Sands, Camber/ Bodiam Castle.
- Castle Museum Small local museum in C13 th Ypres Castle, former town prison, telling history of wool trade and the sea. Suitable for half a class at a time. Small entry fee – please ring to check prices. Not suitable for wheelchairs.
- Rye Town model £1 per pupil At Rye Heritage Centre, a sound and light show telling the history of Rye, based on a small-scale hand-built model. (Audio-tape can be hard for children to understand.) Also free exhibitions – currently old penny slot machines. Wheelchair access.
Cost: FREE entry + coach hire OR minibus
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More Info: www.visitrye.co.uk - Hastings Fishing Museum
Small local museum with a real fishing boat, artefacts, video clips. Located amongst the old fish ‘shops’, bizarre tall huts where nets hang to dry. The area still supports a lively fishing industry. Close to Underwater World. No need to book, but opening times not guaranteed as staffed by volunteers. Useful indoor venue to spend 30 mins if wet weather at Hastings.
Cost: FREE entry + coach hire to Hastings
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More Info: www.hastingsfish.co.uk/museum.htm - Other attractions
The following attractions are also recommended, and are particularly suitable as options on the way back to London to extend your final day.
Museum of Kent Life ( Maidstone)
Cost: £4.50 per pupil + coach hire
40 mins drive
www.kentlife.org.ukWildwood Discovery Park ( Herne Bay)
Cost: £3.50 + coach hire
An unique collection of native British animals including species now extinct in UK – beavers, wolves etc. 1 hour drive
www.wildwoodtrust.org.ukHistoric Dockyard (Chatham)
Cost: £4.50 + coach hire
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Exciting displays about Victorians, WW2 and the history of sail. Teacher packs, tours etc
www.chdt.org.uk