The Devil's Porridge Museum – Trench, Shelter and Locomotive
A few hours.
The route
The Devil's Porridge Museum, at Eastriggs between Annan and Gretna, tells the story of the biggest munitions factory in the world in the First World War, and it's made for curious children on a wet day.
There's a trench to explore, a factory pass to stamp, an air-raid shelter to sit in and a locomotive outside, with lunch in the museum's own café. Almost everything is under one roof, so it suits families whatever the weather.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
None of ours is close by: the nearest is The Scullery in Yarrow, 38 miles away. Sleeps 2; next free Fri 13 Nov to Sun 15 Nov.
Then The House in the Hill, 44 miles away. Sleeps 4; next free Thu 29 Oct to Sat 31 Oct.
The day
Eastriggs
A morning indoors with the children, in a museum full of things to stamp, touch and climb into. Lunch is in the museum's own café, so nobody needs to go back out in the rain.
About three hoursAbout 0.5 miles on foot
The Devil's Porridge Museum
An attraction
The Devil's Porridge Museum is on the B721 at Eastriggs, and its car park is across the road from the entrance. The museum tells the story of HM Factory Gretna, the biggest munitions factory in the world in the First World War. Almost 12,000 women worked there, mixing the explosive paste that Arthur Conan Doyle called the devil's porridge when he visited. Children get a factory pass to stamp as they go round the ground floor, and a badge at the desk when it's full. There's a replica trench to explore, an Anderson shelter to sit in, a 1940s house where they can touch and move things, and Sir James, the fireless locomotive, standing outside. Some displays have loud noises, explosions among them. It opens every day from 10am to 4.30pm, with last entry at 3.45pm. Tickets are £10 for adults and £9.50 for children aged 5 to 16, under-5s go free, and a family ticket for two adults and up to three children is £27.50, at the time of writing. The museum is step free, with a lift, and there's baby changing in the accessible toilet.
The Devil's Porridge Museum Café
Lunch
Lunch is in the museum's own café, done out in Rennie Mackintosh style, with meat from the local butcher, vegetables from the museum's Dig for Victory garden and homemade cakes and scones. The main menu is served until 2pm, then cakes, scones and drinks until the last orders at 3.45pm. There's a children's menu and highchairs, and the door is step-free. Only assistance dogs may go inside, though dogs may sit at the outside tables. Groups of more than five should ring ahead on 01461 700021.
If it rains
All of it is under a roof: the museum, the café and the lift between its two floors. Only the dash across the road from the car park is out in the rain.