Lead Mining Museum at Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, Peak District

The Mining Museum at Matlock Bath is owned by the Peak District Mines Historical Society, who also own and operate the Temple Mine opposite and Magpie Mine at Sheldon. All three are devoted to the history of lead-mining in the Peak. The museum is housed in the Pavilion building alongside the River Derwent - it's the former pump room of Matlock Bath from its days as a spa.

The museum has a fine collection of old mining equipment and artefacts from the former lead mines of the area including several very impressive pumps of various types - the Derbyshire mines were plagued by water problems, so pumping was very important and a major contributor to the cost of extracting the ore. There are also some small mock-ups of sections of a lead mine complete with sound effects, and lots of illustrative panels explaining the history of lead-mining, how the industry developed and what the work of a miner was like. The geological section is very informative and has some fine specimens, and finally there's a cafe. It's well worth a visit.

Temple Mine is just up the road opposite. It's actually a small former fluorspar mine rather than a lead mine, and was opened as recently as 1922 - quite a contrast with Rutland Cavern up the hill (at the Heights of Abraham). The display attempts to recreate the atmosphere within a small lead/fluorspar mine of this century, so it's interesting but don't expect anything very historical. There is a small railway for carrying out the ore, a chute and hopper system for taking the ore down to the lower level and a view of the mineral vein the miners were extracting. The kids can pan for lead or gold if they wish.