Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse

It was the Northwich Union Workhouse, and the building has not been softened much, which is precisely why it works with older children. The museum covers West Cheshire's history and the industry that made it, salt above all, plus the workhouse's own story and the people who lived in it. One current display follows Sarah 'Granny' Vernon, the oldest person to have lived at Weaver Hall. That gives an eleven year old a person to hang the history on instead of a century.

Adults £4.30, concessions £3.10, everyone 16 and under free. A family visit comes in under a tenner. If you only want the coffee shop, the gift shop or whatever temporary exhibition is up, those are free to walk into without paying admission at all, which is a quietly generous thing for a council museum to do.

Access is genuinely good: a lift to the first floor, accessible toilets, disabled bays and a large free car park that will take a coach. The awkwardness is the timetable. Tuesday to Friday it is 10am to 5pm, but at weekends it does not open until 2pm and shuts at 5pm, and Mondays are out unless it is a bank holiday. Under-fives will find it thin going. From about six upwards, the workhouse angle does the work.

What it costs: Adults £4.30, children 16 and under free, concessions £3.10, pre-booked groups of twelve or more £3.10 per person. The temporary exhibition space, gift shop and coffee shop are free to enter without paying museum admission.

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