dean heritage centre

My husband and I took our two young girls to see the room on the broom trail a favourite set of oyr story books at home I'm not sure who was more excited me or my three year old!! We loved seeing the gruffalo sculptures at the entrance and the rest was brilliant there were interactive bits for the children to do along the way and an adventure playground which was taken full advantage of! We had a pushchair and we got all the way round the trail and the rest of the centre. We had fun visiting the Victorian school and the galleries which had lots of room on the broom sensory boxes which were fun, craft areas and lots lots more. We also had breakfast in the cafe which was lovely, we found the staff polite and very helpful to our every need! I couldn't recommend the dean heritage centre enough we cant wait to come back to see the hungry caterpillar trail!!

Where to start? Well this is an old Water Mill and a wheel still turns to generate enough electricity to run the place with enough over to sell. There is a typical 2 up 2 down Dean cottage with a vegetable garden, rabbits, pigs, ferrets and chickens plus interesting equipment used in the forest for mining, making charcoal and iron. It has history, old tool and a lot of seldom known facts. The Dean used to be the largest producer of iron in England. More recently it was here that both Horlicks and Ribena were "invented" and the latter still made hereabouts. Don't let me bore on but what a place for children, for picnics and for exploration. And the "room on the broom" and the brass rubbing are inspired. But don't take my word for it - visit and in good weather with children this could almost fill your day.PS for trip advisor - no there is NOT a bathroom but there are lavatories - this being England

Currently they have "room on the broom" walk around area. It is a must for those with toddlers. There are fantastic carvings of all the characters and a big plus having the Gruffalo and Gruffalo child carvings lining the pond.There are so many activities for the little ones, including brass rubbing, crafting, drawing, exploring, play areas.The staff are attentive and very helpful.The cafe serves excellent food at very reasonable prices. Love this place.

Took our two grandchildren in the summer holidays to show them life before iPads! They really enjoyed looking around the old cottage and showing them life before washing machines and the use of chamber pots! The Witch on the Broom was a lovely walk which they enjoyed. An enjoyable time for all ages.

Stopped here with friends while out motorbiking for some coffee and cake. The lady in the cafe was lovely and sweet, making excellent drinks. The cakes were to die for. The views of the area were wonderful around the lake. Can't wait till the summer so we can come again.

Some interesting examples of the ancient forest art of chainsaw woodcarving, including the story of Dave Harvey; which has remarkable echos to the Johnnie Cash song "Big John".Dave is the renowned, published, Forest Poet. Often there, and well worth a chat.Younger (in heart) visitors will like the carved Gruffalos.

Took my 5 year old daughter and 6 year old niece here on Sunday - what a fun day we had despite the rain. We went for the Room on The Broom Trail as both girls love the book but found so much more. The loved exploring the museum and having a go at brass rubbing, dressing up as Victorian school children and play acting in the classroom. Needless to say the cane and paddle opened their eyes to what life used to be like! Outside were a selection of animals - chickens, pigs, ferrets and a white rabbit. The girls also loved exploring the Victorian Farmhouse, nicely made up to show what it would have been like to live at that time. The girls especially enjoyed the wash house where they had a go with the dolly tub! In addition the scenery was beautiful with a river, waterfall and waterwheel plus a pond with a variety of ducks and sculptures including The Gruffalo in many poses. The trail with the characters from Room on a Broom can take as little or as long as you like and are very well carved. The girls liked the chance to sit on the broom at the end. In addition there were lots of other things to explore along the way including an adventure playground and getting to see the chainsaw wood carving in action.All the staff were pleasant and helpful and answered any questions we had. The cafe was cosy with great selection of cakes and savouries and some very good tea!Gift shop not huge but enough to excite two small girls with a range of items from as little as a £1.So many more things to see than I can detail here so go along and see for yourself. There are a number if picnic spots in the forest and undercover so if you wish to take your own food you can.Tip - google before you go as we found kids go free with paying adults so only cost us around £14 for the 4 of us. If we had planned it we would have used tesco day out vouchers which would have made it free but it was a last minute decision to visit.Definately a worthwhile visit with kids - my daughter has been talking of nothing else for the last two days!

We spent a few hours here and all loved it. The Room on the Broom certainly made it for our 4 year old although the other 2 (5 and 8) also enjoyed the carvings and story. The park was a plus and we ended the day with monster drawing and painting on the craft table while the adults admired the art. A really enjoyable afternoon out, with great staff.

Took my parents and my two children (2 and 5yrs) for a day out there today. The children loved it, the trail is excellent, sculptures are beautiful and the story adds extra interest. The surrounding area, mock mine, wood carving etc. made it even better. A perfect place to go and investigate the forest from. With lakes over the road there is a lot to see and do. We had lunch in the cafe. The food was reasonably priced and very well presented. The glasses for the drinks were filthy. Unfortunately a woman working in the cafe was so unbelievably rude I don't think we'll go back. Clearly she didn't value our custom. Perhaps some customer service training is in order. I very politely asked if my daughter's jelly and ice cream was ready (we'd waited quite some time) and the woman replied with 'it'll be ready when we get to it' her tone was so rude the lady in the queue next to me couldn't believe it either.

A really scenic place and the Room on the Broom trail was really fantastic and very enjoyable for kids and adults alike. A little on the dear side but there's also a good gallery detailing the history of the area.

Good day out. History of the area easily explained,well laid out. Had a Snack in cafe, food was well presented. The man doing chain saw carvings were a must to look at, they had additional things of interest for smaller children, the story around the forest

Lovely local centre with great exhibitions including the history of mining in the area. The gruffalo exhibit and forest walk with story telling was very good. Reasonably priced and very good.

sorry to put a dampener on the adventure...were charged full price for a late afternoon visit, a family of 4 ticket was required but were told on admission that even though we wanted 1 concession and 1 disabled adult were told this was inclusive for a family ticket!! gift aid was automatically assumed, and not aware of pay to park...had it not been for 2 excited grandchildren we would`nt have paid for such a short session..apart from feeding the ducks..the ferrets and pigs were in their enclosures and not a member of staff apart from reception to be seen..The children enjoyed the grufalo trail and the settings are beautifully laid out...sadly not a visit i`d reccomend to friends/family as a day out with young children..

We spent several hours here with our 2 year old granddaughter. What a lovely experience. The "Room on a Broom" theme was excellent both for the adults and the granddaughter. She was thrilled by the carvings of the Gruffalo (she had been to see him in our local woods). The presentation of them around the lake was lovely. Plus duck feeding, a victorian school classroom and cottage.Also a nice tea room to relax in overlooking the lake. Worth a visit.

Very interesting museum, lots to see for grown ups and children alike, we loved Room on the broom exhibition even thou we are a middle aged couple with no children!! Fab tea shop with the best cakes ever and a very friendly lady who worked in there. Good place to visit if the weather is unkind to you, also had a lovely walk around soudley pond after, in an attempt to burn off the rather large cakes we ate!!!