Great Yarmouth’s Time and Tide Museum: An Unexpected Hit!

When we visited the Time and Tide museum yesterday, we didn’t have high expectations. It was a horribly wet and rainy day, and we wanted an indoor, educational (ish) morning out to somewhere we’d never been before. A friend of a friend mentioned the museum on social media, so we decided to give it a go: We couldn’t have been more impressed!

The exhibits were interesting and well presented, with plenty of interactive elements to entertain the children. You start your tour by entering a replica of typical row housing from 1913, which was incredibly popular in the area, and was incredibly well done. You then passed into a courtyard, where you could see examples of old fishing boats, and we also found a play boat which the children jumped straight on to, despite the rain.

The museum also covered a surprisingly huge spectrum of both history and world events, covering both with a local focus. We loved learning more about the Herring industry and smoking process, which the town was famed for and the building itself was used for: this covered much of the downstairs of the museum. But upstairs things only got more interesting, particularly for the boys!

Roman artifacts, neolithic bones, a Viking longboat carved from a log. Local stories from those touched by the sinking of the Titanic, how Great Yarmouth grew into a popular seaside resort, and a fascinating gallery about life in the area during both World Wars. Did you know that Great Yarmouth was the most bombed coastal town in the UK? I had no idea!

The final exhibit was niche, but my favourite of all. The history of Ladybird books, which are produced locally, with walls full of beautiful illustrations. There was also a stack of books and a comfy sofa for children to cosy up and get reading.

All in all, we stayed in the museum just over 2 hours, but you could certainly stay much longer. We didn’t read or appreciate all of the exhibits fully, as Boy5 was getting a bit antsy at the end of the 2-hour mark. (Not bad going for a boy of his age!) Everyone agreed that it was a great morning out, and we would definitely visit the museum again- in fact, we’ve already promised to take my parents on their next trip to visit, because I know they would have found it fascinating too!

Due to Covid requirements, tickets to the museum must be pre-booked at least a day in advance. Adult tickets cost £6.70, whilst children cost £6.20: under 4s are free. For a family ticket (of 2 adults and 2 children) the price is £23.22.
TIP: If you’re on a budget then Norfolk museums offer a ‘twilight hour’ ticket, where you can visit for the last hour before closing for just £2 per person. We used to do this a lot at Norwich castle when Boy5 was a little younger, and couldn’t spend more than an hour at a time in a museum anyway!

You can find out more about the Time and Tide museum, and book tickets, here.