York Castle Museum

A full Victorian street, Kirkgate, runs through York Castle Museum, with cobbles, shopfronts and a horse-drawn cab recreated from the collection of everyday objects gathered by Dr John Kirk, a country doctor whose finds formed the museum when it opened in 1938. The street is named after him and remains the museum's best-loved feature.

The museum occupies two 18th-century prison buildings, the former Debtors' Prison and Female Prison, beside Clifford's Tower. Below ground, visitors can walk through the old cells, including the one where the highwayman Dick Turpin was held before his execution in 1739. The galleries above show how people in Britain have lived over the past few centuries, with period rooms, an Edwardian street, toys, costume and a section on the 1960s. A restored watermill stands in the grounds by the River Foss.

The mix of social history and prison history appeals to families and adults alike, and a visit easily fills a couple of hours.