Yorkshire Coalmine Museum

[rmt4ever]

Hi Everyone. Myself and Mrs are staying in Doncaster in March for the weekend, going to the races. We would like to visit the Coalmining museum too.

What is the best way to get there using public transport and how much would this cost? The website and JP seems to suggest a journey by GNER train to Wakefield (when seems to be a fast train) then a bus.

But I can't find any fare information on the bus. How frequent are the buses on that route and how much is the fare? Or would it be better to get some kind of rover pass or PlusBus. We are 2x ppl with a 2together RCard.

Anyone local to that Yorkshire area able to advise?

Thanks

 

[pdq]

I would look at www.yorkshiretravel.net. Wakefield bus station and the National Coalmining Museum will be searchable as from and to points. Can't help you with fares, but I guess Plusbus from Wakefield would work.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I would look at www.yorkshiretravel.net. Wakefield bus station and the National Coalmining Museum will be searchable as from and to points. Can't help you with fares, but I guess Plusbus from Wakefield would work.

Bus service number 232 is the best bet (hourly, Wakefield to Huddersfield, Yorkshire Tiger), alighting just before the Reindeer pub in Overton. The NCM is on the main road at a slightly lower level, there's a lane linking the two. Not sure about fares either, but as posted above PlusBus ought to be valid. With the new building at Westgate it's a slightly longer walk to the stop, but basically turn right outside the station and walk down, crossing Westgate when you reach it. The bus stop towards the bridge on that side outside the Polish food shop is the stop you need.

Edit: If you're going on a Sunday, the buses are Arriva-run and I think that route is only bi-hourly. Also mon-sat evening buses are run by First so if you have dinner at the Reindeer afterwards (I would recommend it but my recommendation is rather out-of-date!) you'll maybe want to avoid operator-specific return fares.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Actually, ignore my advice about the 232 - Arriva 128/130 runs from Wakefield to Dewsbury and passes right outside the Mining Museum. This is also hourly (xx30 or thereabouts from Wakefield bus station) and can be caught from the same stop. Don't be alarmed on the way back when it seems to be going elsewhere, they just take a slightly different route through Overton and Middlestown towards Wakefield!

 

[rmt4ever]

Thanks 61653. We are aiming to leave Doncaster Saturday after breakfast about 11am, and yes we planned to have a late lunch in said boozer after the museum before getting the bus back, the reviews look good!

We will just do the plusbus rather than messing about, its pretty good value with the 2 together RC

 

[sheff1]

Thanks 61653. We are aiming to leave Doncaster Saturday after breakfast about 11am, and yes we planned to have a late lunch in said boozer after the museum before getting the bus back, the reviews look good!

Unless things have changed recently, the Reindeer stops serving food around 1430 which will be very tight if you want look round the whole museum. The food is good in a traditional sort of way and the beer is very competitively priced, but the decor is probably best described as scruffy and would not be to everyone's taste.

Plusbus is definitely the best option and covers the whole of West Yorkshire, should you fancy exploring further afield.

 

[Busaholic]

Is the Coal Mining Museum worth a visit? I ask as trips North are very rare for me now, and I don't want to waste precious time/miles for something only so-so. I've always wanted to visit Crich Tramway Museum, and wondered whether I might go on to in-laws in Northumberland via the CMM, by car.

 

[sheff1]

Is the Coal Mining Museum worth a visit? I ask as trips North are very rare for me now, and I don't want to waste precious time/miles for something only so-so.

Not really possible to give a definitive answer, as one person's "worthwhile" is another person's "so-so". I found it very interesting. Beware, though, that if you are over about 5'6", the underground tour will involve a fair bit of stooping.

 

[rmt4ever]

Unless things have changed recently, the Reindeer stops serving food around 1430 which will be very tight if you want look round the whole museum. The food is good in a traditional sort of way and the beer is very competitively priced, but the decor is probably best described as scruffy and would not be to everyone's taste.

Plusbus is definitely the best option and covers the whole of West Yorkshire, should you fancy exploring further afield.

1430 on a Saturday???

 

[Mikey C]

Is the Coal Mining Museum worth a visit? I ask as trips North are very rare for me now, and I don't want to waste precious time/miles for something only so-so. I've always wanted to visit Crich Tramway Museum, and wondered whether I might go on to in-laws in Northumberland via the CMM, by car.

Crich is really good, if that's a help

 

[Busaholic]

Crich is really good, if that's a help

That much I was aware of. Not only would it be my first visit, round about 66 years after my first tram ride, but my first time on Derbyshire soil, to my shame.

 

[HowMuch?]

The coalmining museum is excellent - providing you are not squeamish about doing the underground tour (long long lift ride down then lots of walking around feeling very deep underground) . The up-top bit is good backgriund info for the tour but perhaps not worth a trip by itself.

The underground tour is set up to show the history of mining It starts with men working in horrible conditions in tiny seams with payment only for what their wife and children could get to the surface - then through various generations of mining machinery right up to incredibly ginormous monster machines.

The best part is that the guides are ex miners who can give real answers to any questions. They can be a bit blunt ("don't shine your helmet lamp in people's faces - it makes your nose bleed" was my favourite). You can always tell a man from Yorkshire - but you can't tell him much.

It makes your "problems at work" with a clean, safe job seem ridiculous. I was equally humbled by Magna at Tinsley (didn't fancy working with molten steel) and the Fisheries museum at Grimsby (take the trawler tour and imagine climbing the mast with an axe to hack inches of ice from the rigging in a freezing gale). Both well worth a visit.

For steam in South Yorkshire: . Elsecar has the earliest in the world : the only Newcomen engine still at its original site. Only runs on certain days, see Barnsley museums website. For very IMPRESSIVE steam, Kelham Island Industrial Museum in Sheffield has a rolling mill engine with three cylinders the size of dustbins - it reverses at speed in a second or two. They run it up several times a day.

 

[rmt4ever]

Thanks everyone. We have delayed the trip till late April and will be going for the race weekend then.

looking forward to the coal mining museum

 

[7Pinza]

The underground trip is fantastic but can get busy in the school holidays. Last year booked soon after opening time and went back for trip late in afternoon.

 

[Spartacus]

I'd say it's well worth the visit. I quite like to walk from Dewsbury, it's a long way but after Thornhill there's an old miner's track that leads all but directly to the mine, paved with VERY worn out stones from about 200 years worth of boots (where the path joins the 'new' road you can see it's old route through the fields)

 

[The Lad]

The NCM is free just the underground tour is charged, and in the height of summer is pleasantly cool. I

 

[rmt4ever]

Had a great time on the tour. It was fantastic.

It was a bit of a shambles getting to. It was good value with the train ticket plus bus from Wakefield Westgate with 2 together railcard. But its not clear where the buses go from when coming out of the station- in fact if you follow the sign for buses it takes you in the wrong direction. Only thanks to Google Maps I figured it out.

It isn't clear where to get off the bus either, there is no AV system, the friendly driver told us though where to get out.

We did the underground tour and the surface train ride, and the whole thing was great. Only £3 for the underground tour! They could easily charge a fiver and people would still be very happy to pay it.

We got out and went to the pub a few minutes walk away and it was a delight! Sadly, it was deserted.. on a Saturday lunch time! I couldn't believe it. Also, they wouldn't serve lunch as they stop at 2pm!! Maybe that is why it was so quiet.

I can't help feel that the whole thing was designed only for car drivers/coach trips. It is not public transport friendly. Maybe signs when you come out of the station, and branding on the bus stops 'FOR NATIONAL COAL MINING MUSEUM' or something. I just got the impression that up there there is a huge car mentality, and when we said we came by train/bus we got looked at like we had two heads! Even if we had a car at our disposal, we would both have much rather used public transport.

Thanks for the tips from people on here