St Andrews’ Cathedral is full of interesting graves. Entering the museum the gravestones, or graveslabs, become particularly intriguing. I’ve always been fascinated by graves with skulls on them, something that was once the norm can seem a little distasteful in modern times. One large room of the St Andrews Cathedral Museum is dedicated to them. Skeletons and skulls appear with hourglasses (representing the passage of time), the grim reaper with his scythe, crossed bones and even grave digging tools. They mostly come from a period after the reformation in the 1560s and we are told that the carvings were “a reminder of mortality and the need to live a virtuous life to be sure of salvation”. They remind me that our attitude to death, tradition and ceremony can change quickly over a relatively short period of time.

Figgjo was founded in 1941, it is located and named after Figgjo, near Stavanger in Norway. It is best known for its mid-century modern ceramics decorated with colour and characters. Figgjo still trades and if you visit the factory there is a shop and small museum which displays some of its best vintage pieces. Today Figgjo’s mass produced ceramics lack the quirky originality but you can pick up some lovely one-off pieces such as the Sterke Striper hand painted collection.

More Figgjo Museum photos on Maraid Flickr

I read about Pickering’s Beck Isle Museum on the British Letterpress website. The museum has lots to boast about – 27 themed rooms of exploring small town and rural life, from camera displays to a stuffed horse – everything you could imagine under one roof.

I love film and unique cinemas. Miniciné perfectly combines these two passions. They are a non-profit film society operating in the smallest cinema in the north of England. The 26 seat cinema in Leeds Industrial Museum is created from a reclaimed Edwardian picturehouse. The films are well chosen with a short documentary preceding the film. Our main attraction was Chop Shop. We grabbed a cuppa, piece of cake, soaked up the surroundings and sat back to enjoy the film.

Set in the old Methodist School Room in Reeth. The Swaledale Museum is lovely, bright and friendly place to spend an hour or two.

Until today I never knew York had a Cold War Bunker or that it was open to the public. It was nice to discover something new in York. When we booked a tour the lady on the phone said we were “in for a treat” and she was right.

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This museum is unlike the usual. The Museum of Letters is bright, light with a modern feel. The objects are relatively modern too – large, colourful, often plastic letters from signs, salvaged from Berlin shops and stores. It’s simply done, visually stunning and it makes me happy to know that people care about about this important and beautiful element of urban culture.

View all of my Buchstaben Museum photos on Flickr

Buchstaben Museum website

The original curator of Ilfracombe Museum was Mervyn G Palmer who worked for the British Museum. Housed in the old laundry room of the Ilfracombe Hotel, the Museum is stuffed full of a variety of fantastic collections. You don’t know what you will find around the next corner, from a cupboard of pickled bats to 1960s hair dryers

More Ilfracombe Museum photos

Annoyingly I didn’t give myself enough time for this museum – its a little gem. It has a great balance of contemporary pieces, old display cabinets, original rooms, novelty and the unexpected. Highlights were the modern police vans and motorbikes that already look iconic and then the surprise of more – through the courtyard into the old booking room, cells and courthouse. Run by ex-police officers with plenty of stories. Next visit I’ll give myself more time to take in all the information and films, I’m sure I missed some good stuff. Open one day a week – its one to plan for.

More pictures on Flickr