Follow the brown signs
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inspire me
find brown signs around me
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get involved
put your brown sign on the map
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blog
my brown signing adventures
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brown signs
what they are & why they're important
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about me
the girl behind the signs
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history
where it began & where we are now
Living on the (fen) edge
Today’s brown sign of the day comes in the form of the imaginatively and very specifically named Burwell Museum of Fen Edge Village Life, who submitted themselves to the website yesterday. As well as having a windmill dating back to 1820 (don’t get me started on how much I love windmills) this museum also has a collection of buildings and barns (some saved from demolition by being totally dismantled and rebuilt on site) which house collections on wide ranging subjects relating to village life on the edge of the Cambridgeshire fens. The displays and exhibitions include roman pottery, an anglo-saxon skeleton, WWII memorabilia, farming and agricultural equipment, audiovisual tours of East Anglia over the past 100 years and vintage fashion and motor car collections. The rather creepy but gorgeous 2 sailed windmill is currently undergoing a restoration (my favourite ever thing), which is being fully documented by the hard-working restorers, the photos and blog can be found here. All in all, I think this place is really rather special.
So all hail museums of rural life and the little pockets of love that exist all across Britain which honour and celebrate our varied and fascinating pasts. Every local region of these fair isles have their own unique story to tell, they have been shaped and continue to be shaped by the changing and evolving people and events within them. Keeping all this alive for everyone to enjoy and be part of is something I think is worth celebrating. These museums aren’t just about the past, they’re about the present and the future too, as the continuing windmill project personifies.
At a shockingly good value £4 per adult and £1.50 per child this little gem definitely deserves a massive shout out on the Follow The Brown Signs blog; Burwell Museum of Fen Edge Living, I salute you.
Do you know somewhere like Burwell who you think should be featured on the blog or get added to the map? Then nominate them here, it’s free and all about getting people inspired to discover all the varied and fascinating places all around us by way of randomly following brown tourist signs. I do it, you can too, so get involved 🙂
