Sick to Death

Sick to Death fills St Michael's Church on Bridge Street, a Grade II listed building up on Chester's medieval Rows, with the history of medicine told as grossly as it can manage. You go round on your own, guided by a character called Brother Mortem, starting in a plague-ridden Chester. There's Diagnosis Alley, where disease lurks on every surface, an autopsy room where you can have a go yourself, a section on quacks and magic potions, and the TURDIS, billed as the only time-travelling toilet in existence. The poo section wins. Obviously.

Entry is £9 for adults, £5 for children aged 5 to 15 and free for under 5s, and it is card only. You don't need to book. The museum says most people take 45 minutes to an hour. It lists opening as 10am to 6pm every day with last entry at 5pm, though a separate hours box on the same site shows shorter days, so check before a midweek trip. The catch is the steps: five up from Bridge Street, six from Pepper Street, and no buggy storage once you're in.

It is gory on purpose but nothing jumps out at you, and the staff have thought about nervous children: if the dark first section is too much, you can enter from the brighter end and work backwards. The first room after the front desk has flashing lights, and you can walk straight through it. Displays on sexual health sit behind a gate marked Mature Content, so you can skip them without a conversation. The Deva Roman Experience is a few doors away, and a dual ticket for both costs less.

What it costs: Adults £9, students £7, children 5 to 15 £5, under 5s free. Card payments only. Discounted dual tickets with the Deva Roman Experience are sold at either venue, online or in person.

Worth knowing: Gory in places, with a dark first section and flashing lights in the intro room. Parental discretion advised.

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