Black Country Living

After hearing great things about the Twittercampers day out at the Black Country Living Museum we were really looking forward to spending the day there yesterday, and it didn't disappoint. We arrived at the published opening time of 10am to find the car park half full already and a long queue for admission. It turned out they had a staff absence and it's not normally as bad as this but nevertheless we queued, we paid, then set about the first mission of the day, the boat trip.

The boat is an old canal barge that takes you through some of the old mine tunnels and when we saw it would cost an extra £25 for a family ticket we did hesitate for a second. I'm glad it was only a second though because what a fantastic experience it was. Becky, our driver and guide, gave a fascinating and humorous talk as we chugged through the variety of tunnels. At the end of the trip Little Lady Larry proclaimed "that was well worth the money!". Well worth my money more like but I welcome her appreciation.

The next mission of the day was to try the much talked about fish and chips (they are cooked the old fashioned way in dripping and many say they are the best there is) so at 12 noon we arrived at the fish shop to find, yes more queues! Little Larry was so desperate to try them we had no choice but to take our place in the hour long queue. They were mighty fine chips though and probably well worth the wait. Next stop was the inn for a warm by the fire and a refreshing drink before ambling round the shops and houses of yesteryear. We enjoyed it so much we are going again today to do all the bits we didn't have time for yesterday. It's a good job the ticket grants free admission for a year, which makes it exceptional value indeed.