Yesterday's World Great Yarmouth

Despite living on the East Coast all my life there are still a few places I have never visited, and should have.
One of these places is Yesterday's World in Great Yarmouth. I became aware of Yesterday's World when my Nanny from Somerset visited last but it wasn't somewhere I ever really thought about visiting.
I think the reason for this is because I didn't know much about it, and as anyone who has ever visited Yarmouth would know, the seafront is full of arcades, ice cream stands, and fish and chip places, so I suppose I expected it to be the same as everywhere else and didn't expect it to be as fantastic as it is.

Experience an amazing 125 years of British social history magically brought back to life. Discover over 150,000 nostalgic artefacts set in 20,000sq ft of themed areas plus virtual and interactive exhibits.

I was contacted a couple of weeks ago and was invited to go along with my family to have a look around and to have some cream tea in the coffee shop after. As it happened my nan was due to visit the following week so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to visit with her as it is somewhere she was interested in visiting.
We turned up on the day and unfortunately my nan wasn't feeling too well so decided to stay in the tea room whilst the rest of us walked round the museum. As we finished looking around my aunty took her home as she was feeling really unwell.
Speaking to my nan a couple of days later she told me that the staff in the coffee shop couldn't have been any kinder or helpful to her. They kept checking that she was ok and seeing if she needed anything. This brought me great comfort and I can't thank the staff enough for that.

Just before you walk through the doors into the museum, which is set across two floors, you are greeted with a statue of Winston Churchhill.
Oh my goodness, this freaked me out. It is so lifelike that when I stood next to it for a photo I expected him to move and touch my shoulder or make me jump. The details on his face were amazing, and this is something I think was a big positive throughout the museum. All of the statues were really lifelike....one was so lifelike that it looked like he was watching me where ever I went and I may have cried a tiny bit through fear (don't tell anyone though hey?).
I don't want to say too much about the museum and the exhibits because I really think it's better seen but a few of my favourite things were:

The World War 2 bunker. As we walked through to the room I was immediately drawn to this exhibit, despite my family walking the other way. The World Wars have always fascinated me and I felt like the displays here were really informative and interesting.
Experiencing a WWII air raid in the shelter is definitely a must if you visit.

The life size wax figures of King Henry VIII and his wives. This was one of my favourite displays. I particularly liked the way this display was set up, and the information cards in front of each of the wives was really interesting and easy to read. I've always wanted to learn more about King Henry VIII and I really feel I did just from this display.

The full size Victorian Carousel was a wonderful surprise. I expected a small carousel suitable for just the boys, not a full size one! The carousel goes round once an hour at a set time (at least this was what happened on the day of our visit) so it's worth making sure that you know when that time is. Everyone gets a ride on the carousel at no extra cost.

I liked the variety of the displays and exhibits and I think this is what helped keep the boys interested. They wanted to walk around and see what was next. Some of the displays are interactive too which also helped to keep the boys attention. I think these two things (as well as the carousel) make the museum perfect for all of the family to visit.

The cream tea in the Victorian Tea Room was SO amazing. I went for a savoury scone with butter and onion chutney, and it was delicious. My mum went for a pot of tea with a jam scone and the boys went for a hot chocolate, orange juice, lemon drizzle cake and carrot cake.
The cake portion sizes were generous, and as with the scones, were fresh and delicious.
I was really impressed by the See and Tea Ticket and the price of £8.40 for this offer. I would definitely say to go for that ticket if/when you visit.

The gift and sweet shop is also worth a visit. There are so many wonderful, nostalgic gifts available. I couldn't resist but to buy a few items.

We all had a fantastic time at the museum and would visit again, even if it was just to stop off at the Victorian Tea Room for a coffee and cake.