Dock Museum

A museum focused on the nautical. The museum descends into what used to be part of the docks with a large screen at the bottom showing various films, depending on the current exhibits.
There is a small cafe, and a well used play area for the children. Entry is free, and the play area is free to use.
Model Ships dominate the first floor of the museum and some historical information about the development of Barrow in Furness.

The Dock Museum is a really fun day out for children and adults alike. It's free entry, so it can make for a cheap day out in the school holidays with the kids (you can leave a donation in the box if you like, but its not mandatory). A lot of the exhibits focus on Barrow's shipbuilding history, and the history of what went on in the town during the 2nd World War. There are some really good models of the ships that have been built in the town, which youngsters will love. The impressive dock is worth a visit too - you can climb down the stairs and go into a huge stone room which forms the inside of the dock, with all the water rushing outside. There's also a car park, a cafe and a great play area outside for the kids with a sandpit, slides and one of those huge rope structures that they can climb to the top of - it always seems to be busy, especially in the summer.


Unfortunately for us locals, they don't seem to change the exhibits often if at allit's been open at least 10 years and I think they've only changed about 2 things since it opened! I don't really go very often, as I've seen it all before. There's a new one-way system going around that area too, and some sat-navs have been sending people the wrong way around it, so beware and make sure you don't end up accidentally get stuck going the wrong way! But overall, if you're a first time visitor, it's well worth it for a fun, informative and cheap day out!

Fantastic free place to take visitors too. We love the feeling of being actually inside the old dock with the real brick walls and the feeling of being down below the water level. We like the informative videos as well and love the map showing how Barrow has changed in size over the years. A really good free place to go and they do great special events for children too. There is also a wonderful play area outside the museum with lots of fun things to climb on based around a ship. We used to come here often just to use the play facilities as they were my daughters favourite adventure playground in Barrow

Great little museum, tells you the history of shipbuilding in Barrow. Excellent play area for the children and its free aswell.
Recommend for a cheap family day out.