The Weald & Downland Living Museum is delighted to announce it will be reopening on Monday, 22 June to Members only before opening to the wider public from Monday, 6 July. The Museum looks forward to welcoming visitors back to enjoy their much-loved outdoor site, which is set in 40 acres within the beautiful South Downs National Park.
The wellbeing of visitors, volunteers and staff is of the upmost importance, so the Museum has worked hard to ensure the correct safety measures are in place and that there is a robust social distancing plan that adheres to government guidelines.
As part of their reopening strategy and to ensure social distancing restrictions can be maintained, entry to the Museum will be through timed, pre-booked tickets only. Tickets will be available to book online from Wednesday, 17 June and will need to be booked in advance by midnight the day before arrival. This applies to Members as well as the general public.
There will be a take-away service available onsite which includes hot and cold refreshments. Visitors are also encouraged to bring their own picnics to enjoy in the scenic grounds of the Museum.
Further health and safety protocols have also been put in place including additional signage, way finding markers, queuing systems, safety screens and contactless transactions, as well as increased cleaning and sanitisation.
Following government guidelines, all historic buildings and indoor exhibition spaces will remain closed. However, the Museum’s friendly team will be on hand to tell visitors about the Museum and the historic watermill will be in operation to view. There will be self-led trails, including the woodland sculpture trail and of course the Museum’s traditional farm animals will be ready to welcome visitors too. The Museum is continually reviewing guidelines and plans to reopen its fascinating collection of buildings again, once permitted to do so.
Museum Director, Simon Wardell, comments: “This has been the most challenging period in the history of the Weald & Downland Living Museum, but we are thrilled to be able to reopen our extraordinary site in the coming weeks.
“As a thank you for the loyalty and continued support of our valued Members, we wanted to offer them an opportunity to return to the Museum before we open to the public. As a charity, ticket sales and memberships are our core source of income so the support of Members over the last few months has been incredibly important to us all.
“Over the last few weeks our team has worked extremely hard to implement significant social distancing and safety measures to ensure the wellbeing of our visitors. We appreciate everyone’s support, understanding and patience as we adapt to our new opening arrangements and online booking process. We look forward to welcoming you all back very soon.”
The Museum will continue to monitor government guidance during this time and will adapt their opening arrangements to adhere to any new requirements, therefore please keep an eye on their website and social media channels for any further updates.
For more information and to book tickets, please visit www.wealddown.co.uk
