Don’t miss a chance to explore Museums at Night

Over the next few day, museums across the land are opening their doors after hours for an eclectic range of events – the Museums at Night festival.

Audley House and Gardens, essex, museums
Audley House and Gardens in Saffron Walden, Essex, Credit: VisitEngland/English Heritage

This year’s spring season of Museums at Night starts today with more than 500 events taking place across the country as museums – from our great national institutions to the small and quirky – throw open their doors after hours.

With events ranging from Manchester After Hours, Light Night Liverpool on Friday, Late Shows Newcastle and Gateshead on Saturday, London events, Scotland events, Wales events and North Norfolk Stories we pick a few favourites which are sure to offer an amazing experience.

The Booths in their Own Words, William Booth Birthplace Museum, Nottingham, May 11

Join the museum curator on a tour around the Booth family’s Georgian town house as she reads various writings by William and Catherine Booth – who founded the Salvation Army –that describe their life and work while revealing their innermost thoughts and feelings.

Who Sank the Mary Rose in 1545?, Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter, 12 May

Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter Credit: VisitEngland/Tony Cobley

A former archaeologist with the Museum of London Dr Peter Marsden will discuss who was responsible for the sinking of King Henry VIII’s great ship using historic documents and material remains such as the skeletons of the crew, and aspects of the ship’s structure.

Hey Manchester Steam Train Tour at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, 12 May

Manchester Museum
Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester Credit: VisitEngland/Marketing Manchester/MOSI
All aboard for a musical tour of the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway. MSI’s new train experience reveals the story of the railway in a whistle-stop tour, while Manchester’s favourite acts give one-off acoustic performances on the station platforms.

Audley by Lantern Light, Audley End House and Gardens, Saffron Walden, Essex, 13 and 14 May

Audley House and Gardens, essex, museums
Audley House and Gardens in Saffron Walden, Essex, Credit: VisitEngland/English Heritage

Explore the rooms of this lovely Jacobean mansion house after dark and hear the tales of the house’s fascinating history brought to life.

Music, Magic and Marvellous Creatures, Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, County Durham, 14 May

Beamish, museum, durham
Beamish Museum – The Living Museum of the North Credit: VisitEngland/Visit County Durham/Beamish Museum
Head to Pockerley Old Hall at Beamish for an evening of fun, food and music, have a go at driving an engine on Pockerley Waggonway, see a spectacular eagle and vulture flying and don’t miss a visit to the the Georgian Gin Bar.