What to do and see in Wirral, England: The Best Museums

The Lady Lever Art Gallery is a real treasure, housing a stunning collection of paintings including many Pre-Raphaelite masterpieces, the world's finest collection of Wedgwood jasperware, exquisite furniture, Chinese ceramics, tapestries and sculpture, Paintings on display include works by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Stubbs, Turner, Leighton, Millais, Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Holman Hunt and Waterhouse, to name but a few. Admission is free, booking essential at www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever

The perfect place to begin your journey exploring this historic garden village. The Museum tells the story of industrialist William Lever and how he created a high quality village to house the workers at his soap factory. The story of the village is told through film shows, artefacts, archive photographs and models. Displays also explore Port Sunlight at War, the events around the first gig The Beatles played with Ringo Starr which happened in the village, and stories behind some of the famous products made here, such as Sunlight & Lifebuoy soap. Entry to the museum also includes access to the Edwardian worker's cottage. This new attraction, next door to the main museum building, has recreated this historic building as it might have looked in 1913.

The small museum was founded in 1892 but for over a century had its contents locked away and inaccessible except by special appointment or on very rare open days. The St Bridget's Centre was renovated in 2012, and the overhaul of the museum was a key part of the plan, giving it regular opening hours for the first time in its history.The collection contains artefacts discovered on the site from Pre-Norman, Norman, Gothic and Post-Gothic periods. Most notable is the Hog-Back Stone which is testament to the Viking's Christian presence in this location one thousand years ago.

Wirral Transport Museum & Heritage Tramway is a working museum and working heritage tramway preserving Buses, Trams & other local transport related vehicles We are open every weekend from 1pm (Saturday & Sunday) and during school holidays we are open Wednesday, Thursday & Friday plus every Bank Holiday Monday. you can ride on original fully restored heritage trams, see our collection of preserved local Buses and in the museum our ongoing restoration projects and a huge working Model Railway. A HISTORY OF BIRKENHEAD TRAMWAYS Back when Birkenhead was a pioneering industrial town it was the first place in Europe to adopt a street tramway. Those trams ceased operating in 1937, but in 1995 they were revived and you can now travel on one of a series of historic vehicles and experience tram travel for yourself. Trams dating from as early as 1901 operate to make the short journey from Woodside to the Wirral Transport Museum, where you can view the rest of the fleet - tram cars from Birkenhead, Liverpool, Wallasey and a recently restored car from Lisbon, Portugal. The Museum is a proud winner of the Wirral Unsung Hero of The Year 2012 with their volunteers. The transport collection was created as a celebration of Birkenhead's place in the history of public transport, and set up in collaboration with the volunteers of the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society, who restore old trams. In addition to trams, the museum houses a collection of local buses in running order and a group of cars and motorbikes from the Baxter Collection. There is also a 27 foot long model railway layout. Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society Limited is a Registered Charity . No. 1092127.

The Williamson Art Gallery and Museum houses several exhibition spaces showing exhibitions of local, national and international interest. The building also houses a museum which houses the largest collection of Della Robbia Pottery from Birkenhead as well as gallery dedicated to the local maritime history of Birkenhead with models of ships and boats as well as other maritime artefacts. Within the gallery, there is a cafe, craft/gift shop and independent bookshop and art supply shop. There are regular art classes and more.