The retro UK tourist 'town' where Peaky Blinders was filmed & you can live a 1920s life | The Sun

THERE'S a museum inside a small market town in the West Midlands where the hit TV show Peaky Blinders was filmed.

The Black Country Living Museum in Dudley allows visitors to see what life would've been like between the 1850s-1960s, with replica high streets, retro houses, businesses, pubs, and even a chippy.



Since the museum opened in the 1970s, it's welcomed more than 10 million visitors through its gates.

Tourists can step back in time and become immersed in the region's history, thanks to more than 40 carefully reconstructed buildings that provide a glimpse into life during the 19th and 20th Centuries.

The buildings were moved from sites across the West Midlands and some were even carefully reconstructed brick by brick.

Across the 26-acre estate, actors dress up in authentic costumes to bring historical figures to life.

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At the museum, they regale visitors with their forgotten tales and show off their prowess in live industrial demonstrations, like chain and nail making at the onsite blacksmith.

Arguably, one of the most impressive attractions is the 1850's mine, where visitors are invited to head underground to experience what life would've been like for a miner.

There are plenty of other immersive buildings too including a 1920s cinema, where visitors can enjoy the magic of the big screen by watching a vintage film.

Adults and kids are also invited back to school to test their maths at the museum's school house complete with chalk, chalkboards, wooden desks, and a harsh schoolmaster.

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But if school is too much like hard work, then younger guests will enjoy playing old-fashioned games on the museum's cobbled streets.

Other attractions include riding inside some of the museum's heritage vehicles, like buses and old milk carts.

Earlier this year, the museum also launched its latest retro attraction, a high-street plucked from the 1940s – 1960s.

There visitors can indulge in some window shopping at a string of shops, like spotting 1950s fashion trends at E. Minett’s Ladieswear or listening to vinyls at the Stanton Music Shop.

Other shops include Burgin's Newsagents, Laurie Thomas Hairdressers, and the West Bromwich Building Society.

On the high street, daytrippers can also try a pork bap at Marsh & Baxter.

But there are plenty of other places to get some grub too including Hobbs & Sons Fish & Chip Shop where chips are cooked in beef dripping.

Meanwhile, the Workers’ Institute Café serves a range of hot and cold drinks and snacks.

There's also a bakery, an old-fashioned sweet shop, and several seasonal food stalls that pop up throughout the year.

For those guests who want a pint, there are also two pubs on site, that serve a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

The Black Country Living Museum still gets good ratings on TripAdvisor too with 4.5/5 star rating from more than 6,000 reviews.

One person wrote: "We loved it all but especially loved the lesson at the school, the mine experience, the blacksmith, and the making of horse brasses with the sand."

While another person added: "What a great place! The houses, shops, schools, pubs, vintage buses, and canal boats. There's even a coal mine you can go down." 

It's also a fan-favourite on TikTok too and is the most followed museum on the video-sharing platform, according to the Birmingham Mail.

And it's not just holidaymakers who love the retro museum either, the site has been used as a set for film and TV productions like the hit crime drama Peaky Blinders.

Peaky Blinders follows the illicit dealings of the Shelby family as they navigate their criminal lives in Birmingham during the 1920s.

The show's star, Cillian Murphy, was spotted filming at the Black Country Living Museum back in 2019.

Entry tickets into the museum cost £22.95 for a full-paying adult and £11.45 for children aged between 3-15 years old.

The tickets also allow guests to come back for free for a whole year too.

But the Black Country Living Museum isn't the only place where holidaymakers can go back in time.

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The living museum of Beamish in County Durham also gives visitors a glimpse into what life would have been like between the 1820s – 1950s.

Meanwhile, this UK town has been compared to a dreamy Italian village.




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