Pioneers Museum

Jammed between a bypass road and a multistory carpark, unclear signage, a shabby start. But maybe unfair to class this museum as only Worth A Vist—it will surely come as a shock if you walk through Rochdale. The site opens with a pretty church and overflowing flowerbed display (“better than the RHS”) that corners a restored street with a smart new museum extension. The museum may be small, but the exhibits are evocative and wildly varied; bicycles that could be from adverts, weighing machines, flat hats, insurance invoices and a cartload more. Signage is nicely pitched between kids and adults, with an unobtrusive presentation style. There’s reconstructions for the imagination, history for the future, and politics for people. Yes, the subject of the museum is the Cooperative Movement, which started slightly outside Rochdale but this is home. From a neutral perspective, this is national quality, a key museum in England—ironically, it will be of huge interest to international visitors, a must visit. Problem is… it’s in Rochdale. If you’re for rooting through a few shops then a pub lunch, you’ll be ok. Maybe visit the Town Hall, or the parks and countryside nearby, which are notable.