August 2025 by Karen Allan
This was our first visit and we really enjoyed it. We didn't know much about mining but we do now! The play area was a hit and the cafe was reasonably priced. Extra marks for Ringtons products! I really enjoyed the Mik Critchlow exhibition, such a fabulous insite into times gone by. I'm a keen photographer myself and it's given me a little inspiration to try black and white editing
July 2025 by Gill Marchant
Little time, money and effort, gone into this place. Ramps to some buildings are challenging for pets and some walking aids.
Not much to see and a bit of a waste of money to be honest. Its run down and has a number of sections cordoned off.
I have to be brutally honest, it?s boring and does little to capture the interest and imagination of adults, let alone youngsters!
Lack of interest in enhancing and promoting interactive involvement, and poor project management!!
This place could be an absolute goldmine, with the right vision and innovation.
Excuse the pun!
June 2025 by Craig Willis
Great to get to know the local history, if we don?t preserve it for future generations it will be lost forever.
Canny day out!
April 2025 by Garry Goodge
Lovely museum but would benefit with a 'way round' system as we found ourselves heading back in time from the miners strike of the 1980's right back and would have been easier to follow in date order.. but saying that the exhibits and storytelling are great. It was interesting to find out exactly what those poor men endured working down the mines..
March 2025 by Daniel Willingham
This is a truly special, wonderful and amazing museum about coal mining in the town of Ashington. The museum speaks about the history of coal mining in the local area and delivers the story of coal mining in such stunning informative and interesting detail keeping you interested and focused throughout. The museum is also the site of the former Woodhorn Colliery (coal mining site) and you can see that with the buildings around the site, which look remarkable condition. There are a number of brilliant, exciting things to see at the museum and these include the Coal Town exhibition, The Ashington Group Gallery, Follow The Banner and The Colliery Experience. The Coal Town exhibition is a very engaging, riveting and interactive exhibition with easy to understand displays and is laid out very in a riveting and engaging way discussing what life was Miners who worked in the Colliery of Woodhorn but also the local collieries in the area mining and the exhibition is very heartwarming and thought provoking discussing about how children as young as 13 worked in the mine and people starting to work at one and also the Miners strikes prior to World War Two and also the ones in the 1980s that led to the pit closures and the exhibition is that brilliant it will you moved and amazed about the Miners lives and also their struggles they endeared during their working lives and the exhibition gives you a great insight into the working of life of a pit miner and is one of the best interactive exhibitions around about life in a Colliery. In the Coal Town exhibitions you can see a number of interesting and intriguing exhibits including Miner's Lamps, Glassware, Cut out of a Colliery Cottage and the Jackie Milburn Orchid. The Ashington Group Gallery is probably the most enlightening and insightful aspect of the museum as it is the area where you can see the Pitman's Paintings which are simply jaw dropping and amazing showcasing paintings about the different aspects of life in the Colliery and the attention to detail and colour is exquisite and vibrant. The gallery is wonderfully unique as you will no see anything in other Colliery related museums in the UK and it's great to see how articulate, innovative and inventive the Pit Miners were showcasing their working lives in the Colliery in the form of art and offers another great perspective of lives of miners in the Colliery. The Follow Banner display you can see a number of different banners from the local collieries in the area and it is great to see the pride of these banners on display bringing another great aspect of the story of the Pit Miner. The Colliery Experience is where you can wander around the different Colliery Pit Buildings including the Heapstead, Jack Engine House, Stable Block, The Winding House and Cappell Fan House and Cappell Fan Motor Room where you can see the functioning of the Colliery when it was in operation and get into a great into the Pit's Operations and the highlights are standing over the Colliery's number 2 shaft which descends over 880 feet, The Jack Engine House which transported Miners up and down the shaft in a wooden tub, Cappell Fan House and Motor Room with the only Cappell Fan still in existence, The Winding House is at the heart of the pit and the role of the Winderman and they were the only people to give to the Colliery Manager and The Stable Block seeing the role of the Pit Pony and the conditions they were kept in. The museum buildings give you a great insight into the layout of the Colliery and how it worked. The Cafe sells a great range of refreshments at reasonable prices and the shop has a brilliant range of souvenirs at reasonable prices. Overall this is a very special and stunning place to visit making for a very enlightening, enjoyable and intriguing day out. Definitely well worth a visit whilst in Ashington.
March 2025 by Rosemary Gaskell
A little disappointed felt that we were moved from two particular areas when it looked like a school party came through my grandchildren were visiting from Surrey. So they were visiting Woodhorn Collery as part of they education.
March 2025 by Jane Grayson
Visited here today from Yorkshire whilst on holiday for half term with the kids. Really interesting place to visit, I required the loan of the mobility scooter and the staff could not have been more accommodating and friendly. Cafe was also lovely, very clean with lovely freshly made food. Will definitely visit again when we come on holiday to beautiful Northumberland.
February 2025 by Richard Smith
You can now get to Woodhorn more easily thanks to the reopened Northumberland Line from Newcastle to Ashington which is scenic and inexpensive £1.70 each way (with a railcard) and it only takes about 30 minutes then it?s an easy to follow half hour walk or 10 minute cycle via QE2 Country Park. Great place to visit with regular attractions and special exhibitions and events. Friendly staff in the cafe and gift shop. Unlike some places it has items that match the exhibits including Pitmen Painter cards and books. The cafe is spacious and has outdoor seating and a playground opposite. A hidden gem that you?ll want to keep coming back to, which is good as the first entry ticket you buy lasts for a year, which is good value for under a tenner. For adults and free for under 18s.
January 2025 by j b
Lovely museum, but as two annual members with three under sixteens (admission free) we had to queue for 15 minutes till five new admission were registered. It was cold and wet, just to Just our passses "scanned" and admitted. Better system please for annual members, poor show.
December 2024 by Stuart Forster
The Woodhorn Museum is a legacy of North East England's rich industrial heritage. Located at the site of a former colliery, it conveys a history of coal mining in the region and its significance to local communities. I enjoyed meandering through context-providing exhibits, looking at art created by miners and viewing the buildings where miners once worked.
December 2024 by Donna Hunt
We went to festive tales with Santa today. It was a lovely experience. My daughter loved it. Santa was very entertaining and kept the kids engaged. Really liked the story, rather than a quick 5 minutes chat then over. Also liked the little activity sheets when we were waiting.
November 2024 by Andrew Marriott
Another 5 Star Attraction in this area. We visited 23rd October 2024, and it's more than worth a visit. Great place for people of all ages. Fabulous caferia with great staff. It shows how life was for miners. There is a wonderful collection of paintings by the Ashington Group. These artists were all miners. This collection of paintings is worth the visit to Woodhorn on it's own.
The entrance fee lasts for 12 months and there is more to see on each visit.
November 2024 by Paul Pilkington
Found it a very interesting place learning about it's history certainly worth a visit. I was surprised to learn how many people used to work there while it was a working mine. Found it sad in some ways walking round all those jobs gone. Excellent Museum & Cafe good afterwards.
November 2024 by Wendy Louise Metcalfe
It is an amazing place to take children as most areas are interactive so that children don't get bored. Woodhorn is a complete layout of a now-disused Colliery. The history of mining coal from the late 1800s up to its closure in the late 1980s is portrayed superbly through the outside and inside. Not only do the buildings outside show what life was like as a miner and living in a mining community, but there are information boards all around explaining the remaining machinery and what each piece did. It also explains what life was like from the beginning of mining through to the massive thriving industry that coal was required for. It also explains the demise of the coal industry and what happened when there were disasters that killed the men who mined the coal. Then there is the indoor museum, an incredible account of the lives, the work, the different times throughout the years of coal mining and then the decline and eventually the closure of the Colliery's. There is a gift shop and a restaurant onsite, the whole museum is well thought out for its ergonomic design and its ease for wheelchair users, even some of the wheelhouses and machinery houses are accessible for wheelchair users and those who have mobility issues. All in all, it's a great place to visit and be prepared to be at least 2 hours roaming around and discovering an industry that should never be forgotten.
November 2024 by Catherine Ann Boyd
Love this place this is our second visit. Sadly a lot of the buildings were closed due to storm damage but not their fault. Nice play area for kids with seating for the adults.
We eat in the cafe which was ok but the coffee was the worse I?ve ever tasted in my life! Undrinkable
The kids did the pumpkin ? trail which was fab and the place is fantastic for anyone with additional needs.
Ear defenders for my daughter to borrow as we had forgot ours. Toilets with the hand drier disabled in one so she could use it!!! I?m sure I saw a change places room as well. I?ve never met a place so well setup for individuals with additional needs. Just fab 10/10
