Cumberland House Natural History Museum

Little gem of a museum just back from the seafront walkway, perfect for people of all ages, and a great way to spend an hour. entry is free (donations box by the door), and there is plenty to see. they have a lovely collection and it’s informative and well presented. absolutely loved it, i highly recommend popping in! getting there: there is parking on the seafront, plus a few small car parks dotted around but it can be very busy in peak summer. it’s a short walk back from the seafront, not far from the mini golf and model village. on site: first up is the butterfly house. beautifully designed, wonderful variety of butterflies and a puparium to see their development. my favourite part of the museum. there’s a dedicated “bee” room, with an active, visible, hive in the exhibition room. fantastic to watch the bees so close. there is an area dedicated to local birds and wildlife which was very interesting, and another room with a massive dinosaur sculpture (and fossil exhibits too!). i spent about an hour in there and that was enough time to view all the exhibits and spend plenty of time in the butterfly enclosure.

What an amazing place. my grandson spent ages watching the butterflies emerge from their cocoons. the staff were informative and spent time explaining things to him. he is 5. also lots of interesting fossils. free to enter but please donate what you can to keep this great little place running.

It's a glorious place of nostalgic indulgence. the building itself is wonderful. the exhibits fascinating. it's free! but the museum's greatest asset is the staff. you're immediately greeted and felt welcome. we only spent a short time there, but the staff made sure we were getting the most from our visit. long live cumberland house!

Worth going for the butterfly house alone. lots of taxidermy if that's your thing. it isn't mine but the notice says they were found specimens. a few impressive fossils too. it's free so can't be beaten for value but there's a donation box if you can afford to pay. we spent about 45 minutes there. 2 public toilets available.

This is one of our favourite museums! i have been coming here ever since i was a little girl (over three decades!). emily the dinosaur is still there, plus the beautiful butterfly house and a range of taxidermy. the added bee house is a bonus which our five year old loves. it's completely free but you can donate / buy something from the gift shop. friendly staff and free parking along the main road (make sure to park on the same side as the museum as the opposite side is permit parking only). we would thoroughly recommend a visit!