The Museum of Classic Sci-Fi

On Saturday we finally headed up to Allendale to visit this local treasure. It’s a one-man operation and clearly a labour of love on the part of its creator Neil Cole. It’s small but absolutely packed with exhibits, with a labyrinthian feel and dramatic lighting.

Cole does preservation and restorations, and will enthusiastically tell you about his favourites, or recount a particularly fun acquisition. His inspiration for the museum is from visiting the original Blackpool Doctor Who Exhibition as a kid, so its no surprise that there is a Tardis outside and a dalek guarding the from door, plus the show gets its own section which accounts for about half of the museum. The rest covers an impressive range of science fiction television and movies, naturally mostly many British or filmed in the UK.

A listed Georgian buildings cellar in a small Northumbrian village seems a bit of a random place to find something like this, but from our brief visit it seems like there’s a nice bit of art and crafts in the area. Across from the museum is the Allendale Forge Studios, and on our hike along the river we encountered several sculptures. It was a nice slightly fantastical touch to go with out science fictional adventure.

https://www.museumofclassicsci-fi.com