During the week I caught Userlandia’s YouTube video about visiting British Computer Museums, which at the end mentioned a Northwest Computer Museum. This piqued my interest as I’m in the northwest of England. So, on a warm and sunny Saturday (27th April 2024) I’m reliving childhood computing memories in a mill, and I’ve brought the family with me.
We got there as the museum opened (10am) and straight away got some hands-on time with a Sinclair C5 – Sir Clive Sinclair’s legendary electric vehicle. In my opinion the C5 was a little too much before its time, with electronic vehicles only becoming mainstream in the last decade or so and being able to interact with a C5 at the museum really does highlight how vulnerable a C5 user could have been in 1980s traffic.
Inside the museum is a treasure trove of technology, especially for those that may have grown up with these computers. A replica Apple I is on display, showing its components and a schematic diagram. Next to it starts the long list of useable computers, too many for me to list in a blog post but a few of my favourites; a Commodore PET, an Apple II, an Atari 400, a ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Apple IIGS, Amiga A1200, Apple iMac G3, and an Apple iMac G4 running a Halo demo. Sitting down at these gives opportunities to play games, check out operating systems and see how much technology has changed. Keyboards in particular have got much easier to type with.
For those that missed out on dial-up internet connectivity, there is a PC (running Windows XP) connected to a replica “The Internet” (IT Crowd S3 E4) to give them an experience. The noise of the computer connecting and the lack of speed as pages load took me back and again highlights how much connectivity technology has improved. There are even working rotary telephones.
But what about outside of computers? The museum has that covered as well with a selection of retro video games consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega Mega Drive (Genesis for those in the US), an N64 and even a room of working arcade cabinets provided by Arcade Club. There are also display cabinets filled with games that are available for playing on request.
And for those that want their retro technology fix without the technology, the museum also has collections of computer magazines and computing related books. There’s even an onsite café!
The staff running the museum were friendly, helpful, and informative. They helped with demos of the C5 and the computers, including showing an impressive PET display demo indicating that the system could do quite a bit with its limited display capabilities.
A handy guidebook was given to us as we used the devices filled with facts and hints, and information displays are next to machines to give key details.
It’s great that the museum is in the north west and I’m hoping for another visit soon.
The Northwest Computer Museum is located on the 4th Floor of Leigh Spinners Mill, Park Lane, Leigh, UK, WN7 2LB. The museum is open 10am to 4pm Wednesday through to Sunday. The mill has onsite parking and an elevator. The museum has a website at: https://nwcomputermuseum.org.uk/
Below are a few photos to show some of what is available at the museum.
