The world is traffic-jammed with various forms of transportation, from aeroplanes, cars, boats, trains and bicycles that allow everyone to travel to work, educational institutions, social events and leisure. It is often difficult to imagine what life was like throughout history before the bustling metropolis of the city with trains and planes connecting the world under and over the ground. The London Transport Museum, Covent Garden London, explores the heritage and development of Transport for London (TFL), which is widely used to travel throughout London and is an iconic landmark. This museum has a variety of galleries to unearth the wonders of London’s transport network and a vast array of historical objects on display.
Admission
The museum does not offer one-time admission tickets but instead provides a one-year pass at the price of £21 as a standard adult ticket. Concessions prices are available to specific groups, and visitors should consider the purchase before visiting the museum. From my experience, the price was an eye-watering shock to buy a year pass, even if I had not planned to view the galleries again. I also think this is unfair to tourists visiting London who will potentially not be visiting again and cannot make good value and use a year pass. However, this is an interesting way to generate income in a continually struggling and underfunded sector. To combat this unbalanced ticketing system, I think offering an alternative option such as donating the rest of your ticket to the conservation of a particular museum object.
The Good and the Bad
I enjoyed the immersive quality of the museum through walking around and onboard different modes of transports from buses to carriages and found this the most engaging and fascinating tool to experience the variety of interior designs and ideas that symbolised the new and innovation throughout history. Some of the text panels were overwhelming, but I engaged with the lesser-known facts of London’s transport network such as the rise of pirate buses and the health and safety nightmares of smoking in enclosed spaces!
The museum offers a variety of learning programmes for school visits, and the visual displays are ideal for young visitors to learn, understand and visualise transportation of the past. However, when I visited the museum on a weekday, the overwhelming amount of school groups and visitors with prams transformed the space into a playground with high-visibility vests swarming every floor and gap of the museum. The noise was headache-inducing. While it is not the museum’s responsibility to act as noise cancellers, I think museum staff could actively reinforce that other visitors would like a quieter and more reflective atmosphere.
Although the museum offers a fascinating and immersive experience, I felt that many aspects were missing resulting in a less enjoyable experience. As a Museums and Galleries MA graduate, I understand the limitations and concerns when designing exhibitions with historical objects, but the gallery space felt awkward and disjointed. To improve the flow of visitors having an arrow system to guide the visitor would have been helpful, otherwise the different options become overwhelming and result in missing important and interesting exhibits. From the perspective of a historian interested in social history and how changes impacted the lives of everyday people, the museum provided enlightening information, such as the rise of ‘Pirate buses’ in the 1920s. The Hidden London exhibit was also informative, with an immersive exploration of the use of the London Underground during the Second World War.
Worth the London commute?
In conclusion, the museum is thought-provoking and offers a family friendly and immersive experience of a plethora of authentic objects, such as buses and train compartments. I wish that the museum space had a less overwhelming and busy route to follow to avoid the disappointment of missing integral artefacts from London’s rich history. If you are planning on visiting the museum, I would suggest checking the ticket price, busy visiting times and following a map to avoid neglecting impactful history.
Don’t miss the fun penny press and stamp trail when exploring the museum!
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