Ad disclosure: We were invited to the press event and provided with our entry tickets & refreshments for the purpose of this post.
I have fond memories of childhood visits to Blists Hill at Ironbridge, with their exciting traditional sweet shop, interactive exhibits & demonstrations, and delicious fish & chips. I grew up near Stafford, so I visited multiple times when I was a child, and it was one of the places I knew I wanted our girls to experience – we’ve even blogged about one of our visits in the past.
Blists Hill is a working-class industrial town set in c.1900, at the end of the Victorian era. It is a great place for families to visit and immerse themselves in Victorian life, with various shops and buildings open to look around and explore. Georgie has been studying Victorians this term for her school topic, so it was a perfectly timed visit for us. Lydia was also happy to see the old canal after learning about them this term.
With almost every exhibit at Blists Hill reopened in some manner, there wasn’t a lot missing from the full pre-covid experience. The butcher, baker, and incline lift are all currently closed, and although the bank is open you can’t exchange modern money for shillings – all in the name of public safety.
Card payments are currently being accepted across the site & preferred to cash, and the only place we paid in coins was at the fairground, where the ride operators are using hand gel frequently in between customers to limit risk. Instead of buying souvenirs such as their hand made candles around the site, they have opened up an indoor market in the Goods Shed, with contactless payment and frequent cleaning measures in place.
Throughout the site we saw posters, washing stations, hygiene screens and other social distancing measures in place to ensure that the town is “Covid Secure”. Together with the limited capacity, timed access and plenty of outdoor space, it doesn’t feel at all difficult to keep that all important “6 feet and 63/4 inches” apart. We loved the fact the signs are all done in the traditional Victorian printing press style – it made us smile as we skirted our way past the other visitors.
Many of the buildings are limited to “2 persons or 1 family group”, with lots of one way systems & marked out queue lines in place to allow you to enjoy as much of the town as possible. Some shops where one way entry wasn’t possible, such as the chemists, had a ‘”one in one out” system in place with a member of staff manning a barrier at the door.
The staff were all really friendly and kind to the children, showing them how the various equipment worked and talking to them about the realities of Victorian life. The girls were very alarmed at the idea of having to manually fill up and then all share a tiny bathtub by the fire once a week!
We all enjoyed the various demonstrations that were happening across the site, including the candle maker (which I remember being fascinated by as a child) and the printing press.
Lydia took a seat in the school and the girls had a chat with the teacher about the differences between modern and Victorian schools – they were amused at the idea of sharing a classroom at their ages, and outraged at the suggestion that they would be sent out to work at the tender age of twelve.
It was good to see the teacher wipe down the bench and table where Lydia sat as we left, ready for the next visitors. There was also a gel hand wash station as we left the building.
For lunch we had the most amazing fish & chips, which were just as good as I remembered, having been traditionally cooked in beef fat. Even the ducklings ventured out from the canal to come and see us where we sat eating in the hopes that we would share our delicious lunch. In addition to the fish & chip shop, you can also get takeaway refreshments from The Forest Glen Pavilion and The Station Coffee Shop. The New Inn Public House is also serving drinks at the door.
Once we were all filled up on chips we visited the sweet shop where we each chose a treat from the array of traditional jars sitting on the shelves. James and Georgie both chose fudge – one bag of vanilla and one of chocolate – and having stolen a nibble of each I wish we’d bought several more bags to take home… so yummy!
I went for (the apparently predictable) choice of rhubarb and custard, while Lydia delighted in a bag of dolly mixtures. This part of the day was apparently a big highlight for the girls, as they both mentioned it in their emails to the teachers the next day!
We spent a good four hours exploring everything Blists Hill has to offer, and had a great day out despite the rain first thing. The girls especially enjoyed the rides at the traditional fairground, and peering into all the windows and doorways they passed. Despite the soggy surroundings, I enjoyed the flower filled gardens too – I’d love to visit another day to do the walk along the canal, and also take the girls to visit the Ironbridge & Tollhouse.
After months of not seeing many people at all, I have to say it was also nice to see Bex (read her post about the day here) and the girls loved being able to talk to and play with (at a safe distance!) her daughter Leah, who they’ve been seeing at blogging events since they were both in pushchairs.
If you are interesting in visiting any of the sites, you can buy passes & book timeslots on the website, and also read more about how they have prepared for visitors in the midst of this pandemic, including a comprehensive FAQ section covering any questions you might have. Dogs on leads are permitted, the toilets are open, and opening hours at Blists Hill have been extended to allow as many visitors as possible to enjoy the site, with timed admission slots between 10 – 4pm.
Blists Hill Victorian Town will be open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am-7pm. You will need to book a timed admission slot to visit, even if you already have an Annual Pass.
Back in February, before the whole country was shut down due to Covid-19, two of the museums belonging to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust were badly damaged by flooding and so IGMT were already in a bad position before they were forced to closed all of their sites. Due to closure, they have lost £2 million income, which is a significant number for the trust. IGMT is one of the world’s largest independently run museums with 10 sites costing them over £10,000 a day to run.
Right now they have four of their sites at least partly open, along with the Furnace Kitchen cafe, with more hopefully opening as the year progresses. In addition to Blists Hill, The Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron is open, along with The Ironbridge & Tollhouse, and parts of the Museum of the Gorge.
If you are interested in supporting IGMT and aren’t close enough to visit, you can donate to the trust at their website.
