Back to the future Black Country style

A trolley bus and a tram meet in the Black Country Museum, where you can ride on both when you visit the Museum every Sunday, Bank Holiday Monday and some Saturdays.

It's getting to that time of the year when we're looking for days out, either on our own or in the company of children. We also want value for money, so free museums and country parks must be high up the list when it comes to choosing where to go, but if you do have a few pennies to spare, then a visit to the Black Country Museum in Dudley will provide you with lots of things to see and do, including a narrow boat trip into the spectacular limestone caverns under (Dudley) Castle Hill.

In addition, on every Sunday, Bank Holiday Monday and some Saturdays as well, between 10am and 5pm, you can take you a journey into the future on one of the historic Black Country double-deck trolleybuses which operate a regular 10 minute between the Museum's entrance and the village, nearly half-a-mile away. It is the only service of its kind in the world. There is also a tram service. The Black Country Museum Transport Group, which owns and maintains the collection, depends on its volunteer members to operate the services. At some point in the future, public transport companies and politicians will re-discover trolleybuses and they will make a welcome return to our streets (a mile of new tram track costs about £18m, compared to an estimated £250,000 for a mile of trolleybus overhead wiring). In the meantime, you can experience the future and have a great day out at the same time.

Black Country Industrial Museum, Tipton Road, Dudley DY1 4SQ, open 10am–5pm daily, £12.50 Adult (£10 concessions), £6.75 child 5–18, Family £33.50, tel: 0121-557-9643, www.bclm.co.uk.

Black Country Museum Transport Group, Membership Secretary, 15 Dalwood Close, Coseley, West Midlands WV14 9TY, www.bcmtg.co.uk.

Note: If you have a favourite museum you would like to share with other readers, then please tell us about it and we will see what we can do.

16 February 2009