Milestones Museum

Our visit to the Basingstoke Museum with a group of elderly adults living with dementia was truly a fantastic experience. From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed into a journey through time that was both engaging and wonderfully nostalgic. The group absolutely loved playing the seaside arcade games from the 1940s and 50s, which sparked so many smiles and memories. Walking through the different scenes of historic jobs, wartime bunkers, and displays of cars, trucks, and fire engines kept everyone interested and talking. The sweet shop was a real highlight — purchasing a £2 ration card and exchanging it for 200g of sweets felt authentic and fun for everyone. Visiting the pub and even being able to enjoy a drink added another lovely, realistic touch to the experience. There is genuinely so much to see and do, making it perfect for families as well. The added bonus of McDonald’s and KFC just outside when driving out is ideal if you’re visiting with children. The only small downfall was that the toilets are located on just one side of the venue. For wheelchair users and members with walking frames, the cobbled ground made getting across quite challenging, and toilet trips became a bit of a workout — which did take some time away from enjoying the exhibits (though we had a good laugh about it!). That said, the staff more than made up for it. Rosie at the front desk was absolutely amazing, and the gentleman who ran the pub was just as friendly, welcoming, and engaging. Their warmth truly enhanced the whole visit. Even helping when asked to borrow a wheelchair for amber who was struggling she was more than happy to help thank you to her hospitality Overall, this was a heart-warming, inclusive, and memorable experience that we would highly recommend — especially for groups, families, and anyone wanting to step back in time and enjoy something truly special.

We have lived close by for twenty years and have never visited. So, with the £10 per adult ticket for afternoon visits during the month of January we decided to give it a go. Everything is inside so in the January rain we were saved from the weather. The staff were lovely and welcoming. We had a cuppa in the cafe and it was reasonably priced with views over the rooftops of the streets below. It was lovely having a wander around the streets and peering in shop windows. A lot of the shops you were unable to gain entry to and the sweet shop was closed for lunch. We’ve been spoiled by having visited the big living museums around the country, so this one didn’t really give us the urge to want to return. The other living museums we have visited have been enhanced by having staff in period costumes interacting with visitors. Today, there was a lovely bloke on the tram that gave us a fantastic insight into what life would’ve been like using teams. Other than him there was no one around to bring the museum to life. The pier was a disappointment as most of the machines were out of order and it was more of just a corridor than anything resembling a pier. Would we return? No. I’m glad I can say I’ve been but an annual pass would’ve been wasted on us. It needs staff to make it better and to bring the streets to life and make it the Living history it describes itself as.

I had seen Milestones advertised a few times, and on a trip in that direction I thought it worth a visit with the kids! The ticket is valid for 12 months and we had no issues or big queues going in, although we did need to park in the overflow car park. Milestones is all under cover, and has recreated shops, buildings etc. for the family to visit. (Including an old pub, where uou can get a pint!) On our visit they also had horrible victorians, which involved a little trail and a couple of actors doing some bits with the kids. We also purchased a ration book so that the kids could get some sweets in the 'ye olde sweet shop!' We enjoyed our wonder round, and was probably there for a couple of hours. We are probably spoilt a little as we have been to some much larger living history museums, but we was impressed with what they had managed to squeeze in, and it was a bonus that it was all indoors. The only bit we was a little disappointed with was the pier area. My son had purposely left this till last to play on the machines, but a majority of the machines were broken and out of order. There is a gift shop and cafe on the way out, but we didnt browse very much as it would have increased chances of kids wanting something!

A fantastic day out at Milestones Museum! We spent four hours there and the time just flew by — there was so much to see and enjoy! The exhibits were excellent, beautifully curated, and full of fascinating details. But what truly made the experience special was the staff. From the reception to the café and the shop, every team member was welcoming, professional, kind, and clearly passionate about both customer service and the museum itself. Their warmth and enthusiasm made all the difference. I highly recommend Milestones Museum for a day out with family — it’s a place of great learning, wonderful staff, and outstanding exhibits. A truly fantastic museum!

Hadnt visited for 10 or 12 years so it was interesting to see changes and additions. A very quiet afternoon with hardly anyone there so taking pictures was easier and pleasing. Lady who runs the gramophone shop was very pleasant and informative about what was on display. Will visit again in the future.

Really good fun! Loads to see and do to keep kids entertained, as well as interesting seeing and reading for adults. Love it. Didn't eat in the cafe but it looked great.

I love this museum. Such a fantastic experience walking through the streets and looking in shop windows. Excellent for children from I'd say about 6 or 7. The facilities are super clean and I really appreciated the alcohol wipes by the baby changing table. I've never been so comfortable changing a nappy before. The café is really reasonably priced and has nice baked snacks. The pier is amazing with contactless cash machines (ironically with the times!) dispensing old coins and 50ps for the arcades, and it is really good value for money. There is a new play area for small children, which was excellent as I brought my 3 year old and crawling baby so it was good for them both to let loose and get out of the pram. But I have to say this was the only area I was disappointed in as the carpet was grubby and there were not many choices of toys. I think if this area was perfected the place would be faultless. Having said that, I'm waiting until my children are older until we go again and then they will fully appreciate the immersive experience.

The appearance of an open air museum, but with the bonus that it's inside! Loved walking the streets and immersing ourselves in the history of the Victorian town. Will be taking some of our own old pennies to use in the arcade games - some of which I remember from my childhood!

Milestones is located just outside the town centre and only a few minutes from Junction 6 of the M3. It is clearly sign posted and easily found. The museum is housed in a odern purpose built building that is looks deceptively small. It was opened in 2000, and still looks new. It is on two levels, well three but the middle level is just a cloakroom and offices I believe. The top floor (confusingly called Upper Ground) consists of the entrance lobby, toilets, gift shop and restaurant. The gift shop carries a wide range of products with a historical theme. These range from books to sweets and from toys to ornaments. The restaurant serves hot meals and snacks, and is moderatley sized. There are also a few tables in the entrance lobby where picnics can be eaten, as well as a picnic area outside. The main part of the museum is on the Lower Ground and this is accessed either by stairs of lift. The museum is fully accessible to the elderly or disable, and they even have their own electric chairs. However care should be take by those who have mobility problems as the streets are cobbled and in places there are tram tracks. The museum tells the story of how people lived and worked over the past 200 or so years. It is consists of several mock streets and buildings, along with real vehicles and other items. At the start of the museum you are given a personal audio guide and map. This provides commentary on all of the scenes and is a very good idea. It allows people to walk around at their own pace, even children, and deters them from just walking straight past exhibits. They are backed up by numerous films and display boards scattered around the exhibits. The tour starts in a mock up of an Taskers ironworks in Andover in the 18th century. It tells the story of how they made steam engines (not trains, but stationary engines and traction engines). From there the visitor walks out in to the High Street and can visit a saw mill, the station and all kinds of shops that would be found in a typical town at the end of the 19th or begining of the 20th centuries. For example there is a greengrocers, a co-op and even a working pub, where I was reliable informed you could by a pint of ale. Eventually the visitor goes through a time tunnel which takes them in to the 1930's or 40's. Again this is represented by rows of shops and vehicles of that era including a sweet shop where you could buy sweets of a bygone age. There are also two seperate areas for specialist collections and displays which don't fit into the main part of the museum. For example when I visited there was a display of how the home has changed over the decades since the 1920's. The final part of the museum is a mock up of the Thoneycroft factor which was a large employer in the area. This is a living history museum and there were several costumed interpreters walking around, who were more than willing to talki to visitors about the exhibits. Various activities for children are also arranged, such as dressing up in costumes, a victorian school lesson and as mentioned above buying sweets from the sweet shop. To be able to buy the sweets, the children had to have two old pennies and a ration card, just like in Granny's day! These were on sale at the entrance for 60p. The museum state that you need three hours to go round, well it took us three and a half hours, but could easily have taken more. This is a very good museum, well thought out and obviously designed with children in mind. If you plan to go, I can recommend it and would suggest arriving early and plan to spend the whole day there - you won't be disappointed.

I worked at this museum for a few months a while ago, and it's a good place to visit. It's in a lovely modern building and has an excellent range of historical exhibits, all in a recreated street scene from the past. A wonderful idea for a museum, and it's been executed wonderfully staff are friendly, the exhibits are detailed and interesting, and the whole thing provides a fascinating insight into Basingstoke and Hampshire's past. Admission prices are pretty high, admittedly, but I think in this case they are justified for what is an excellent, interesting and very worthwhile place to visit.

A good insight into days gone by, including street life and displays depicting some of Basingstoke's industrial past. We've visited several times now and our children are always keen to visit again. Vintage vehicles, street scenes, dressing up and old home technology are just some of the surprises as well as staff dressed in period costume giving brief history lessons.

We visited Milestones last year and were pleasantly surprised at how much they have managed to pack into a fairly small space. Our children are wre aged 5 and 9 and were engaged maost of the time - although by different things from the adults. There are a variety of exhibits from 2 eras. The victorian and 1930s so covers two of the KS2 history curriculum areas! while having enough 'we used to have one of those' exhibts for the not-so-aged parents. Throughout the dya there were tableaux by costumed guides/actors to expand on some of the exhibits. There is a snall hands-on area but it didn't really seem to fit with the rest of the museum. We had a snack in the cafe - not great. At £22 for a family of four its not a cheap day out but we spent several hours there - hanging on to the end so that the children got an opportunity to try on some of the costumes that are around and the children did learn soemthing about the times while having fun.