In a nutshell
When I was a kid, my fantasy was to step inside the pages of the books I loved: climb up the Magic Faraway Tree or sit on Anne of Green Gables’ bed. This museum is perhaps the closest you’ll get to that. It’s in a huge former Royal Mail depot and the stories are brought to life through imaginatively staged rooms allowing visitors, for example, to step through a wardrobe into the snowy, magical forest of Narnia.
Fun fact
The museum has been unable to unlock two old Post Office strongrooms and likes to speculate that when staff finally drill their way in they will find gold.
Best thing about it
The giant bed: a colourful, cosy, soft, enticing beast of a bed under a fabric-draped ceiling. “The pillows are the same size as my whole bed!” squealed my daughter.
What about lunch?
You bet. Celebrity chef Sophie Grigson oversees the cafe here, cooking up “simple, but delicious” soups, salads and a savoury dish or two (£4-£6). Marmite on toast for the kids £2; Narnia-inspired hot chocolates £2.70.
Exit through the gift shop?
You’ll pass it on your way in because it’s merged with the ticket desk. No tat here though. A beautiful selection of books, story cubes and literary posters.
Getting there
A 10-minute walk from the railway station, tucked away on a back street. Look for the old red telephone box marked “Nonsense.”
Value for money?
Adult £7.50, child (2-17) £5, family ticket for four (£20). We each squeezed out a fiver’s worth of fun, but as my daughter put it, “It feels a bit empty.” The new exhibition, Animal, opening for February half-term, will plump it out. Designed to look like a library, you’ll be able to slip behind each bookshelf into the world of a different animal-themed book.
Opening times
Most weekdays, Saturday and school holidays 10am-5pm, Sunday 11am-4pm. But check storymuseum.org.uk for full details as some days are reserved for schools only; 01865 790050, Rochester House, 42 Pembroke Street, Oxford.
Verdict
7/10 and heading upwards
