Dales Countryside Museum

Hada lovely trip out from our holiday cottage in Bainbridge to Hawes. Popped into the Dales Countryside Museum, a very well laid out and thoroughly enjoyable experience. Thank you.

Very informative, great for adults and children. Shows the history of life in the Dales region, from mining to farming and daily family life.

A lovely walk back in time, and for such a small population, the museum is top notch, with many involved staff and dedicated volunteers. KUDOS TO ALL!

Small museum in hawes. Good local history museum, showing various exhibits through the ages in and around hawes. Informed and friendly staff. Old train station repurposed, old train to walk along as part of museum ( good for kids), little outside nature walk, main building very clean and accessible for all. Little mining exhibit ( kids would love). Gift shop with quality items. Cafe cycling themed ( cycling shop also onsite), good coffee and good food and lovely staff with reasonable prices.

We visited on Thursday 03rd October 2024. Having visited Hawes several times this was our first visit to this Museum. Based at the old station, the museum details not just the history of the closed railway line but also the history of the dales both from a formation perspective as well as its human history. It includes art exhibitions which seemed a little out of place and a more appropriate and interesting reproduction of a mine inc a little candle to light the way. Refund of car park cost when you buy a ticket. 2 main aspects of the museum, with one being formed inside the train carriages and the other the main building. A separate cafe on site but managed by a different company associated with cycling.

The best £5 ever spent! And your admission ticket is valid for 7 days. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing and learning about the history of the Dales. At various points throughout the museum there are points where you can listen to audio interviews with local folk talking about growing up there. Absolutely fascinating! I'd definitely back there. The cafe there had a great selection of food all reasonably priced. Everyone was so accommodating and friendly too.

An excellent smaller museum but with loads to see, spread over three floors and at the old station platform, a display in several railway carriages. We had a good welcome from the staff on duty, with an explanation of the museum layout plus a simple, one-sheet laminated map to guide us. Mining, farming, local customs & traditions plus a history of the hand knitting industry in the Dales. There was a whole series of displays around sheep, their breeds and wools. It also covered the series of processes to knitting wools and making up. This was only the start, really. It is well laid out with great information boards and practical examples. The round gallery at the end had marvellous display of local knitting from local wools and textiles. There is a good cafe with indoor and outdoor seating and bike shop. All the usual accessible loos and facilities were also there. Inevitably, there is a gift shup, sure but it's a good one with some decent local products. There you are! Good paid-for parking too, though if you park at the museum and pay and display you get £1 off entrance. A 5-star visit for us! I think someone told me, the ticket lasts for a week.

Superb museum. Friendly reception and plenty of information. Parking directly outside, no height barrier (£3.50 for 2 hours). Brilliant railway carriage with exhibits all the way through, mainly about this locality, but with lots of interesting anecdotes. Inside the main building is a small mine shaft to walk through, information and speaking earphones, an abundance of old craft tools and machines. Tinsmith, cheesemakers, weavers and knitters to name only a few. There's a exhibition upstairs about keeping heaths, farmlands etc safe - with some colouring activities for children. Toilets, tourist information, gift shop and walk through to a seperate cafe all inside. Well presented and really interesting. Around £5 each (a £1 off if parked in the carpark alongside the museum).