History is made: 10 new UK attractions for day trips and short breaks | United

The Burrell Collection, Glasgow

The Burrell Collection is reopening after a six-year, £68m refurbishment, with a third more gallery space and new displays. The storerooms on the lower ground floor will be open for the first time, showing how objects are cared for, and a new outdoor space will make the most of the museum’s setting in Pollok country park. The 9,000 objects acquired by the shipping magnate William Burrell make up one of the biggest privately amassed collections in the world, and the new-look galleries will focus more on the people who made the artworks and originally owned them. Highlights range from ancient Chinese porcelain to 20-plus paintings by Degas.
Opens 29 March, free entry, burrellcollection.com

Game of Thrones Studio Tour, Banbridge, County Down

An immersive, behind-the-scenes tour has just opened at Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge, County Down, one of the Game of Thrones filming locations. Visitors can step inside sets including the Great Hall at Winterfell, the headquarters of the Night’s Watch and the Hall of Faces. They will learn about the special effects used to bring dragons to life; see the makeup and prosthetics used on the White Walkers, Wildlings and more; examine dragon eggs, drinking horns and other props; check out swords and crossbows in the armoury; and get close to costumes such as Sansa’s wedding dress and Jon Snow’s furs.
£39.50 adults/£27.50 children, gameofthronesstudiotour.com

Clifford’s Tower, York

This 800-year-old tower is all that remains of York Castle, established by William the Conqueror. It was variously a treasury, exchequer, mint and prison, but its interior has been an empty shell since it was gutted by fire in 1684. Now, after a £5m project by English Heritage, the ruin is reopening with a protective freestanding wooden structure within it. Aerial walkways will replace the lost first floor and open up rooms hidden for centuries. The spiral staircases and the chapel are also accessible again. A new roof deck will provide views of York Minster, the city and the North York Moors beyond.
Opens 2 April, from £8.10 adults/£4.80 children, english-heritage.org.uk

Vagina Museum, east London

There is a penis museum in Iceland, but there was no vagina equivalent anywhere in the world – until a pop-up museum began holding events around the UK in 2017. That led to a bricks-and-mortar museum in Camden, north London, in 2019, which attracted more than 150,000 visitors over two years. Now the new Vagina Museum is opening in Bethnal Green, east London. It is three times bigger than the previous incarnation, and has a permanent exhibition about the gynaecological anatomy, an expanded temporary exhibition on periods, plus a community gallery, events programme and cafe.
Opens 19 March, free entry, vaginamuseum.co.uk

Rig Climb Experience, Greenwich, south-east London

The Cutty Sark is one of just two surviving tea clippers in the world, is launching a new experience in April. For the first time, visitors will be able to climb the masts. Would-be sailors will…