Threlkeld Quarry And Mining Museum

Steaming Dates and events for 2019
March 30th - April 22nd - Easter holiday steam
May 4th - 6th - Bank holiday steam
... May 18th - 19th - VET demonstration weekend
May 25th - June 2nd - Half term steam
July 20th - September 1st - Summer holiday steam
July 27th - 28th - Annual steam gala with visiting locomotives
September 21st - 22nd - VET Demonstration weekend
October 19th - 26th - Half term steam
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It has been a busy January!
On the nice days we have been out on the track doing some maintenance on the main line near the top shed.
Also we are in the process of rebuilding one of the MOD wagons. On Tuesday it was four loose lengths of channel, by tomorrow it will be time to put the wheels back on.
... The weather decided to put some white fluffy stuff down too!
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Merry Christmas!
We would like to say a huge 'thank you' to everyone who came to see Santa and to those who helped out with the Santa Specials. We had a brilliant time!

The Elves have been busy decorating today - isn't 'Sir Tom' looking festive? It was a lovely night for a warming fire - there is an engine somewhere in the gloaming!

Our Santa Specials are now all fully booked - thank you!

We have spaces for three families on the 3 pm train on Saturday 22nd of December. These are the last spaces available.

Our Santa Specials are very popular this year - we are putting a 3 pm train on the 22nd and 23rd.
The extra train we are running on Christmas Eve has already sold out.

ALL SANTA TRAINS NOW FULLY BOOKED
Saturday 22nd December
12 pm - FULL... 1 pm - FULL 2 pm - FULL 3 pm - FULL
Sunday 23rd December
12 pm - FULL 1 pm - FULL 2 pm - FULL 3 pm - FULL
Monday 24th December (Christmas Eve)
12 pm - FULL 1 pm - FULL 2 pm - FULL
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It's getting to that 'Ho ho ho' time of year.
Come and see Santa and his steam train at the Museum on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of December.
Children will receive a present from Santa and festive refreshments will be available. Tickets are £7 each or a family ticket (2 adults + 2 children) is £25.
... Advanced booking is necessary. Bookings can be made via Messenger, email - threlkeldquarrymuseum@btconnect.com or by phoning 017687 79747.
We aim to respond within 5 working days as we are not often in the office!
Below shows the availability on the trains
Saturday 22nd December
12 pm - Spaces Available 1 pm - Spaces Available 2 pm - Spaces Available
Sunday 23rd December
12 pm - Spaces Available 1 pm - One family space left 2 pm - Spaces Available
Monday 24th December (Christmas Eve)
12 pm - FULL 1 pm - Spaces Available 2 pm - FULL
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Is it … yes, it is - the first dusting of snow!
With the weather becoming colder we are doing some inside jobs.
Yesterday we replaced the roofing felt on carriage number 6 - much tidier!

The perfect half term treat!
Steam trains now running daily on the hour from 11 am - 4 pm up to and including the 27th of October.
Please note due to a road closure we are only accessible off the A 66.

Open every day 10 until 5 with steam train on the hour from 11 until 4 pm. Come and enjoy the museum , the excavators, the mine and the stunning views of Blencathra. Pan for minerals in the stream
To avoid disappointment phone or email to book your tour of the replica mine. ( minimum age 7)

The machines are being readied for this weekend. Come along and see the progress on Bennie the 54 RB and the Priestman Lion. Also we will be welcoming the Vintage Motor Cycle Club on the Saturday and members of the Long Haul Club on the Sunday. It's going to be a great weekend.
Please note that there will be no public mine tours on Saturday, Sunday and Monday

How long is a piece of string? Well, it's over 660 feet long! This is in preparation for putting the steel ropes back on Bennie the 54 RB. Don't forget it is the VET demonstration weekend 15-16 September.

We have finished our daily steam service with Sir Tom.
Trains are still running daily but are now diesel hauled.
Trains run at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm.

We are marking the last weekend of the school holidays with a 'teddy bear' weekend. Free admission and a steam train ride for children when accompanied by their favourite teddy bear. Maximum of 2 children with each paying adult. Steam trains on the hour from 11am until 4 pm Saturday and Sunday

We have reached 2,500 likes - thank you everyone! :)

The museum will be open as usuual and the steam train running but the highlight is that some of the vintage excavators will be working.
Refreshments available Entry £8 adults £4 children

We loved this place so much we visited 3 times in one week during the Easter holidays! The first time we had a ride on the steam train, we came back the following day for the mine tour as we'd just missed the last tour the previous day. The tour was great fun and the guide made it really interesting, he was really good at involving the young kids. We've just been back today to go panning in the stream and we came home with a pot full of sparky gems. We'll definitely be back!

We had an amazing time with you today. The volunteers were brilliant with our 4 kids, so knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Our kids were mesmerised at panning for gems in the river and are desperate to show them at school. It was gloriously free and easy, muddy delight. Thank you. Will recommend you to friends.

Thoroughly enjoyed this day out. The mine tour and talk was fantastic! The guide was both informative and entertaining from a social and economic historical perspective. To engage both a 7 and 14 year old as well as adults takes some skill. I'll be back next year and wait with baited breath to see whether the moth prediction this winter is correct.

This is a great place to visit and fun for the kids and lots of information and you can ride the train, go panning for gold or minerals, and go on the mining tour and hope that they can make a go for this place. Loads of stuff in the museum.

Superb place to visit and amazed at the machinery there and the people who maintain them. Highly recommend on a working weekend

Such a brilliant day out. Panning for minerals in the stream, the excellent mineral collection and museum, so much information to take in and wandering round all the excavators and machinery. Then a steam train ride to the top of the quarry and an interesting talk about the history and products from the quarry. We rounded off the day with a tour of a lead mine, mocked up but felt and looked genuine enough to me. This museum is a work of love and dedication and well worth a visit. It's hard to say which activity was best, all felt well worth the individual, minor,charge. I found the mine tour thoroughly interesting and my son loved panning for minerals, on the hottest day of the year he spent a couple of hours at this. I'd love to go again, perhaps sans kids and spend more time perusing the museum which has so much information in it.

Spent a fantastic afternoon here. The train ride is great, staff friendly and very knowledgeable and the mine tour is unmissable. We had such a great time and my son (aged 12) was buzzing after leaving the mine tour and gave our trip 5 out of 5. The museum finished our afternoon off with an informative and interesting end to our visit. Highly recommended. We will be back!

Just the best quarry, excavator and narrow gauge industrial railway attraction in the British Isles. Be prepared for rust, wind and awesome views. A place laden with genuine history and in the care of loving enthusiasts. The end July steam gala's each year are humongous spectacles.

Just been this morning. Wow what an amazing place run by amazing people. Had a great morning. Was so interesting. If I ever a am ever lucky and win the lottery I will definitely be giving a big donation..

Its a great place to visit if you enjoy British industrial heritage and even if you dont its an enjoyable place to visit if for nothing less than the stunning views of the surrounding fells. You can even make your own cup of tea

It's not a big commercial operation - it's run on a shoestring, by people who clearly love the place. The underground tour is highly recommended, and was pitched perfectly between the adults and the two 5-year-olds on ours. The main thing though is wandering around the 70 or so excavators, which is something you're not going to see anywhere else. The train is only a short hop to the upper quarry, but it gives you a good idea of the scale of the place.



If you want lots of sign boards and glossy paintwork, and everything behind fences, this isn't for you. If you're happy to look around yourself, and you don't need a health and safety assessment for your kids to get up close to a steam engine or get grubby hands and knees climbing on a caterpillar track higher than your head, then you're going to love it. We're talking old-school here, and that's a lot of its charm.



Be warned that there's no cafe. However it's only 5 minutes drive to a *really* good locally-run cafe in Threlkeld village, which they recommend. You need to go almost all the way through the village, past both pubs, and you'll probably see the "community centre" sign before you see that it's also a cafe. Or stop at one of the pubs. The museum could probably make a few quid with a cafe, but they're all volunteers and they're not that kind of museum.

Great time with the kids and great value. Take a packed lunch with you enjoy the steam train, the mine tour and a bit of planning for precious metals and jems. If you have time make sure you take the foot path and have a look at the cranes being restored in the main part of the quarry.

Difficult to know where to start to heap praise. Maybe the enthusiastic VOLUNTEERS who are knowledgable and endlessly friendly. Maybe the site with its rusting former glory. Maybe the beautifully restored railways engines that chug you around the mine. Maybe the wonderfully educational mine tour that bring home the full horror and curious beauty of the men woman's and children who lived and died short brutish lives to bring minerals to the surface for the benefits of others. Maybe the lovely museum. But I loved the lack of commercialism, the lack of health and safety choking the fun and life from everything. This place is a treasure, go visit, go now.

Brilliant place and great fun for the whole family. We also liked the panning for gold, no one had done this and while we found no gold, the kids lived what they did get

Awesome place can't believe we have never been before, even on a miserable day like today (chucking it down) we had a brill time, kids loved panning in the stream for precious stones, the mining tour was fantastic learned so much, finished off with a ride on the steam train, would of loved to of spent more time in the museum but ran out of time so will definitely be back, all the guys / staff were really nice your a credit to the place look forward to our next visit thanks �

Absolutely fantastic day today. We took a 5 and 6 year old and a pair of grand parents too. Something for everyone. 5 yr old loved the train, 6yr old liked the mine waterpump and couldn't get Mum and Nana out of the river panning for gold! Dave's mine tour was informative and enjoyable. Such a friendly place. So many diggers too. Brilliant!

A small group of us had an excellent tour the mine visit is a must for people who like social history. You should make a DVD of the museum and mine

A fantastic day out! I had only came across the museum through my interest of narrow gauge railways and couldn't pass up an opportunity to visit whilst staying less than ten minutes away. The staff are warm and welcoming and very knowledgeable, the museum is very thorough and the collection is so vast. Very impressed that visitors are free to explore the collections too. The steam train ride was most enjoyable too. Will definitely come back!

Great value and great fun. Clearly a labour of love but could have some nicer visitor facilities, a cafe and 21st century toilets would be great. But the staff were lovely, the site is an aladdins cave so if you have a cuppa before you go, I would thoroughly recommend it.