We visit the best museum in the Bristol area you’ve probably never heard of, let alone visited

Ask most people in Bristol to name the best museums in the area and it’s more than likely the main Bristol Museum on Queens Road and the M Shed in the Harbourside are the top two choices.

But there is a third and even more interesting option - a small local museum on the outskirts of the city that rarely gets a mention but deserves much more recognition.

The Kingswood Heritage Museum is actually in Warmley but it holds a wide variety of fascinating displays covering the history of the area.

Although it’s much smaller than the central Bristol museums, it’s the largest independent museum in South Gloucestershire, with seven rooms packed with displays that change regularly. It’s also close to the brilliant Warmley Waiting Room cafe and tea garden should you want to visit both on the same day.

Located on the site of William Champion’s 18^th Century brass works - a site of importance in industrial history as Champion developed the first commercial production of zinc in Europe - it’s a modest place and it only opens three afternoons a week (that extends to all day for the August bank holiday weekend).

The museum features detailed displays covering local industries such as mining and boot-making, as well as many household brands based in the area such as Kleeneze household products, Douglas motorcycles, Tizer drinks and chocolate makers Fry’s.

Two of the most interesting displays at the moment are one of the Kingswood Top Rank bowling alley and one featuring Bristol-born Star Wars actor David Prowse, who was also the Green Cross Code man on TV adverts in the 1970s.

Prowse’s family have kindly loaned the original Green Cross Code ‘droid’ robot which is still in working order and moving around the museum, much to the delight of visitors young and old.

I spent about 90 minutes in the museum and could have easily spent longer. I already want to go back as soon as possible in case I missed something.

There’s also a cafe and a small shop selling secondhand books and records, as well as local history books.

Like many people in Bristol, I’d never even heard of Kingswood Heritage Museum until I visited it and it was a revelation.

I’d go as far as saying it was the most interesting museum I’ve been to in Bristol and surrounding areas.

The museum opens Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday from 2pm-5pm. In addition, it extends its hours on the three days of the August bank holiday weekend from 11am-5pm.

Run by volunteers, the admission price is a modest £4 for adults and children over 12, with under-12s allowed in free.

The museum is located on Tower Lane, Warmley, BS30 8XT. There is plenty of parking and also regular buses to and from Bristol stopping nearby.

Here are 12 photos from our visit to Kingswood Heritage Museum.