Introduction
The National Coal Mining Museum for England provides a great day out with a unique opportunity to travel 140 metres underground down one of Britain's oldest working mines. Situated in a rural setting, it offers an unusual combination of exciting experiences, whilst providing a genuine insight into the hard-working lives of miners through the ages.

The Museum is open daily from 10.00am until 5.00pm (closed 1st January and 24th-26th December annually).

On Arrival

Please head to Reception to pick up a ticket. Admission to the site and underground tour is free, tours run every 10 minutes from 10.00am until 3.15pm and you do need a ticket to be onsite. The team will give you a map and let you know if there are any special events taking place.

Please note there will be no underground tours until 11.00am on Thursday 29 July, with a possibility of the underground tours being delayed until the afternoon. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.

The age limit for children to go underground is 5 and above. A 'Mini Miners' indoor play area is waiting to be discovered for those who are not yet old enough to go underground.

We recommend a minimum of 3 hours for your visit, but you could easily spend the whole day here at the Museum.

Please click here to view our virtual tour.

Advanced Booking

Underground tours run every 10 minutes and we are now taking advanced bookings for two of these tours a day, 1.30pm and 3.00pm. These can be booked by telephone (01924 848806) Monday to Friday 10.00am to 4.00pm, in advance of the day of the booking. There is a £5.00 booking fee for this service. Please note that for all other tours (free), visitors book on arrival at the Museum.  During school holidays we recommend that you arrive early for the underground tour, which is often fully booked by midday. 

Admission
As this is a real coal mine, warm clothes and sensible flat shoes are recommended. All children (under fourteen years old) must be accompanied by an adult. Contraband items, including cigarettes, lighters and battery or electronically operated equipment, must be left with an attendant in the lamp room during the underground tour. Please note that the battery pack required on the tour weighs 2kg and must be worn by all participants.

Please click here to download our Access Statement.