The Wayside Museum and Trewey Mill - Zennor.

 
My friend Emily came to stay last week and we spent a lovely time driving around Cornwall's far west - my favourite part I have to say. I know this part of the world very well and I would recommend anyone explore its stunning coastline full of hidden valleys, remote farms, old mines, standing stones and bronze age boulder walls, but when we stopped at Zennor to go for a walk, eat more cake and look at the beautiful ancient carved mermaid in the church (15th century and do research the folk tale!)

I finally went into the small Wayside Museum. I'd always noticed the sign for this small museum, hanging next to an old working waterwheel, but somehow never had the time when I was there to explore properly. The museum is certainly in one of the most stunning positions of any in England, situated in a 16th miller's cottage and old (yet still working!) watermill, nestling into the rugged coast staring out over the Atlantic.

You enter the museum through the shop which is well equipped with souvenirs and a good selection of books about and based in Cornwall. It also sells local Moomaid of Zennor ice cream - you've got to love ice cream that is both site-specific and involves a pun - and organic flour milled on the premises. We were welcomed by a really friendly lady and the entrance was reasonable at £3.95 for adults. Children cost £2.95, which includes a quiz trail to follow. There are also family tickets available. Leaving the shop we walked through the lovely garden to the first building, and then followed the advised route through a network of mill buildings to the cottage. I really loved the feeling of exploring this conjured - how I was never quite sure when I was going to find another building and what it might contain. There was a real sense of adventure to this - also the museum is much larger than I had guessed from outside!

In terms of what was on display there was everything to do with local residents since 3000 BC to the 1950s! There are 5000 artifacts from prehistoric boulders, to milling and farming equipment, displays about local residents, ancient washing machines, packaging, photos, the actual mill itself, tools - there's too much to list really, but it was all very interesting. Two of my favourite things were the charm stick hanging above the fire place in the cottage - the story here is that if devils came down the chimney during the night they would become transfixed by the bubbles in the glass and you could just wipe them off with a cloth in the morning! - and I also loved some of the stories about local characters. These included a man who'd had I think 27 children as a competition and another about a local poet who liked writing about death and destruction. I have tried to include photos of some of this text, but I only had my phone in a darkened room so I don't know how legible they are... There were also some great photos of Cornish grannies. I also loved seeing the working water wheel outside. All in all it was a really great impromptu museum visit and I would recommend tearing yourself away from the stunning landscape for a minute to learn a bit about the fascinating human history of this remote bit of England as well. It's eccentric and lovely and the effort in collecting such a vast selection of items covering such a long span of time is very impressive and worth paying respect to. Do go to the church to say hello to the mermaid too though! Or morveren as they call them in these parts...

The World of Model Railways - Mevagissey.

These days when people talk about collectors and how collections can create a whole different world for the collector, they often refer to those of the Comicon persuasion and the escaping into a ready made fantasy world. But I've always been more fond of the homemade, and for me the ultimate example of homemade worlds in model collecting is those of the thousands of dedicated model railway enthusiasts. Now I have a confession to make straight away, which society would say goes against my age and gender - I really want a train set - have done for ages - I'd go the whole hog and have a room dedicated to my own crazy train set diorama and it would probably involve dinosaurs and imaginary cities, and most certainly go around the wall like a rollercoaster, and I'd really want a monorail and chair lift. And a volcano and a secret garden. And the amazing thing is if I had the space there is no reason why I couldn't do this - model railways enable us to collect the objects we're fascinated with, i.e. trains, and then bring them to life in a living diorama - the dioramas of the giant collections of the pre 19th century might have done this, but these days they rarely do. With all this in mind I set off for the small fishing town of Mevagissey to visit somewhere I had always seen the sign for and wondered about - The World of Model Railways...

Founded by Arthur Howeson and opened to the public in 1971, the World of Model Railways is situated in an old pilchard plant up a side street in Mevagissey. It was instantly popular and at a time without many purpose built visitor attractions in Cornwall there were queues down the street! It was a little quieter when I went but I was glad as it meant I could get a really good look at Arthur's railway world. 

Built in three sections over time, the main railway display loops round a dividing wall leading the visitor through the world. (There is also a later built diplay of a railway one could make ouside, also using Thomas the Tank Engine to appeal to kids, but I'm going to focus on the main display). We move through town and countryside - there are garages, stations, markets, even a wonderful china clay pit display making it very local! I loved the details - all the people and movement - the events enfolding such as fires waiting to be put out, barges on water or horses playing. At the end the display builds towards an amazing Alpine scene, with yes a chairlift! There's even handgliders! I love how the display's narrative element enables us to make up our own stories about what's going on, and for me echoes the real experience of sitting on a train and watching the world go by - it crystallises those glimpses of other lives and parts of countries we only get to briefly see. I also loved the display cabinets or Arthur's other locomotives and the circus display, which reminded me of the model circus I used to have that was one of my most prized toys when younger. (There was also a somewhat esoteric display of the results of a ferrero rocher box diorama competition - I find such things quite splendid, but it also illustrates one of the joys of small museums and personal collections for me - you get to see the quirks that would be left out of larger institutions, but maybe would have been in a magpie collection of the past - there is a real sense of the personal, but also a community of enthusiasts...).

Reading about the history of its construction I loved discovering that an army of local lads helped out, making this a real community project. I was greeted by really friendly older men (who liked my train skirt I was wearing in honour of my visit) and I wonder now whether they could have been some of the men who helped build it originally. They were certainly knowledgeable and there was a great model shop that doubles as the entrance.  The railway was sold in the '90s and six months later Arthur passed away. This was when things such as the Thomas outdoor display were added to appeal to a more commercial audience, but whilst now being run more as a business I do not believe that the railway can have lost much of its original scope and charm. This still comes across as the work of real enthusiasts - people who really care about model railways - and I hope it will stay that way for generations to come.

More details can be found at www.model-railway.co.uk
I apologise for the bad camera phone in a dark room photos!

Perranzabuloe Museum, Perranporth

As a loyal museeme fan my mother went to Perranzabuloe (best name ever) Museum in Perranporth, North Cornwall the other day and decided to review it. It sounds to me, especially when I read their website too, that this is a great example of a true community museum and what can happen when dedicated locals who care about where they live and want to share its history come together. Here is what she had to say:

This small museum, in a room above the library (a lovely building refurbished with the help of volunteers in the '80s) in the surfing village of Perranporth, was an unexpected pleasure. It has been supported by a large network of financial friends and this shows in the large display screens which subdivide the space and look very professional - yet it still has the eccentric appeal of a private collection, with objects ranging from leather boots worn by the pony who mowed the golf course, to the earliest surf boards, which included old coffin lids from the local undertakers!

There is also a lot of information about Perranporth's mining history - I'd had no idea of the variety of minerals which were dug up - silver, lead, copper as well as tin and even arsenic! There was also information about the ancient chapel of St Piran, currently reburied beneath the sand dunes, and the local fishing industry. There is also information about the village during the war, farming history and the local railway. One thing that amused me was the quote from a 19th century ship's captain who had been wrecked in numerous places around the world, and who said that no where had he come across savages such as the natives of Perranporth! Luckily for me this is no longer the case, and the staff at the museum were charming, friendly and helpful!

There was also a delightful re-creation of a 19th century cottage interior, which would appeal to all ages, as would many of the other exhibits. Entry is free, but donations are invited. I would recommend this museum to all visitors to Perranporth.

Their website can be found at http://www.perranzabuloemuseum.co.uk/

The Williton Bakelite Museum

Yesterday I had the chance to visit a small museum that has always intrigued me, and that I was genuinely excited about in terms of its housing a collection of something I personally am very enthusiastic about - Bakelite. The Williton Bakelite Museum describes itself as the world's greatest collection of vintage plastics, and it certainly has a vast variety on display. Situated in a small village in North Somerset, nestled between Exmoor and the Quantocks, just finding the museum is an adventure in itself. You drive through the main village then up a twisting lane to park by a beautiful field with a stream running through it next to a lovely vintage caravan. The museum itself is housed in an old mill, with a lovely vintage cafe with great china tea sets in the main house. It costs £5 for adults, and after paying the lovely Gwenda who was working yesterday, I entered into the (slightly chilly!) mill and its magical realm of plastics.

One of the things I loved about the museum was how it was both a small museum and one person's collection - a real testament to a passion. Personal collections are always interesting in terms of display as they are displayed in terms of how their owner curates them rather than how an official museum person sees it as making sense. Near the entrance an old oven was sat with a random book of animal cigarette cards on top - nothing to do with Bakelite, but somehow it added to the whole retro feel of the place. There were then cabinets containing everything from bowls made of amazing marbled Bandalasta ware (also known as Lingalonga - what great names!), to napkin holders in the shape of animals, telephones, gramophone horns, records, typewriters, great clocks with sailing boats in them, model planes and cars, things from dollshouses - I could go on! After winding round the ground floor of the mill, I then climbed the rickety stairs to the second floor where there was a room with old hairdresser setting dryers, kitchen ware, heaters and things actually diplayed on the old mill wheel! There was also a very interesting display of really early 19th century plastics, and also really curious things like a case of early plastic teeth! There was also a display of houses made with Bayko - one of my Dad's favourite toys from his '50s childhood. It really was a feast of quirky delightfulness - really atmospheric, eccentric, but informative too. I loved it.

I also want to thank Gwenda who was so lovely to chat to. I had a great cup of tea and some cake afterwards in the cafe. Any vintage enthusiasts would love its 1930s feel. There were also lovely postcards for sale. It was a truly brilliant experience, and I loved the way I felt like I was visiting a special place as well as a museum - seeing into someone's passion for collecting and being absorbed in the whole environment of the old mill and its beautiful setting. Below are some photos I took (on my phone so not great quality I'm afraid). You can visit their website at www.bakelitemuseum.co.uk