Summer Leicester Trip 2022 Day 1 – Abbey Pumping Station

(For all the pictures shown in this post, you can simply click on them to enlarge)

When did we visit:

We visited on a Wednesday in late August. It was partly cloudy and sunny. There were not a lot of visitors in the museum. We got to explore the displays as long as we liked.

What age is it best for:

From preschoolers onwards. There are a variety of displays which you can touch and try, which is great for young kids. There is also a trail for the little ones.

How long we spent at the venue?

We arrived at 12pm and left at 2:30pm. The museum itself is small. There is an outdoor playground just next to it. I would say it’s a 2-3 hours visit if you take your time and study the exhibitions in the museum with your little ones and then play in the playground.

You can, of course, visit the nearby National Space Centre which is just less than 5 mins walk.

What else are there to see or do?

• Outdoor playground. Special features include a small sandpit with pulleys and buckets, a sand digger, a small double decker bus.
• National Space Centre . As I mentioned above, it’s just less than 5 mins walk. It is not part of the Abbey Pumping Station. Entrance fees applied.

Things that definitely worth to see or do:

• Flushing the toilet! Yes, that’s right. There is an interactive toilet with a see through bowl and cistern. You can flush the artificial poo and see where it goes from the flush to drain. Sadly the artificial poo was stuck at the end of the “journey” and so we could not see it “in action”. Hope they will fix it.
• The huge steam engines. Used to pump sewage to the treatment centre in the olden days. They are still in full working order and you can see them working in special events throughout the year.

Disappointments:

A few displays did not work. Would be nice if they can be fixed.

Any extra charges once I’m there?

None.

Other things you need to know before you go:

If you want to see the steam engines in action you will have to check for their special events where they will run them to show the publics.

This is their official website: https://www.abbeypumpingstation.org

There is a section of Abbey Pumping Station in the Leicester Museums and Galleries website which I find the info very useful too.

Visit Leicester is also handy if you are visiting Leicester for the first time.

Will I recommend it as a family attraction?

Based on my experience I would recommend it as a family attraction. It would be a nice short visit. Around 2 hours if you were to take your time to explore the displays with your little ones. We love the fact that we can touch and try some of the displays. As you read along this blog post, you will see that Abbey Pumping Station is not just a museum about sewages and toilets. It also has a good range of exhibits to learn about the history of science, industry, transport, health and hygiene, some of which are related to Leicester. Very educational with easy to understand information.

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Here are some pictures of the day and descriptions.

The museum is free-flowing and is not running any one-way system. We got to explore each display as long as we liked, and we can go back to any one whenever we liked too.

Once we entered the main entrance the first room is all about toilets and sewages. We loved the displays of the olden days toilets.

The huge steam engine used to power the Abbey Pumping Station.

As we walked further into the museum we discovered it does not only tell us about the history of the pumping station and sewages. There are displays and info about many more interesting stuff. I particularly love the big posters which has just enough information and diagrams/pictures.

About soap

They have a section on cinematography.

J loved this section. There are a number of displays that you are allowed to touch and try.

Transportations in Leicester.

Made in Leicester.

There is a section on clothes washing including the Victorian laundry mangle and various versions of washing machines.

Needless to say, it was only the rich people who can afford to have a bath and shower facilities installed in their houses.

Other things to see:

Hands-on activities for kids (and adults) to have a try.

Outside the museum are some more displays.

There is also a playground with sandpit. Since you do not have to pay to go into the museum and this playground it’s very popular.

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For lunch, we went to a small cafe called Coffee Cafe Day . 10mins walk from National Space Centre car park. It is a small family run cafe. We had All Day Breakfast. Good price for the generous portion. Freshly cooked.

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For dinner, I pre booked a table at Miller and Carter near our hotel .

We ordered:

• Chef’s Recommendation – Grain Fed Sirloin 10oz (Mr’s B’s)
• Sirloin 8ox (mine)
• Rich Banoffee Pie

For all the steak you can then choose (it’s all listed on the menu):

1. How you would like not cooked
2. a steak sauce (5 to choose from)
3. a wedge dressing (for the lettuce + croutons)
4. a side

The food was absolutely delicious. Love the flavour and the freshness. We love EVERYTHING on our plates!

We did not have to wait for long for our food. They arrived nice and hot. We can taste that they were all freshly cooked.

The restaurant was very clean and felt comfortable.

Service was excellent. There were enough waiters and waitresses to serve the almost full restaurant. Toilets were very clean. There are some outdoor seatings too.

You can see a sample menu here .

Note: When I booked the table online it specifically stated they have a dress code of smart casual. But when we arrived we saw lots of people were just wearing a t-shirt and sporty shorts, or hoodie sweater. So I am not quite sure what they mean by smart casual!

🍕🥪☕️Meals: