1. Built in a 19th Century dock, The Dock Museum at Barrow is home to a wealth of objects on the social and industrial history of the Furness area. Within its historic walls visitors can find out more about the fascinating heritage of the area from cave finds, Viking treasure, Victorian life, Anderson shelters and the Second World War as well as Barrow’s long history building vessels. Running until November 4 is an exhibition on Morecambe Bay’s Hidden Heritage, where museum-goers can delve into the Bay’s maritime, industrial and archaeological past. Celebrate the Bay’s unsung people and seldom seen corners. Discover mysterious ruins, ancient archaeology, historical puzzles and tantalising tales. Go along and explore the hidden heritage of Morecambe Bay, captured using the latest digital technologies, traditional research methods and some good old-fashioned community involvement and conversation. Telephone 01229-876400.

2. The Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry is a great place to immerse yourself in Lake District history. Under the banner of Lakeland Arts and located opposite Kendal’s Abbot Hall Art Gallery, you can discover the Lake District’s past in farming, mining, tanning, and many other ways that people have made a living among the fells. Also on display at the moment is From Wordsworth to the Web: 200 Years of The Westmorland Gazette, an exhibition that puts the newspaper into context within the history of printing in Britain. Telephone 01539-722464.

3. The Ruskin Museum was founded as Coniston’s permanent memorial to its most famous resident, John Ruskin, who died in 1900. Ruskin’s friend, confidant, and first biographer, WG Collingwood, organised an influential Ruskin Memorial Exhibition, held in the main Assembly Room in Coniston Mechanics’ Institute over the summer of 1900. The proceeds paid for the construction of a new museum -The Ruskin Museum - dedicated to Ruskin’s memory and celebrating the local cultural and literary heritage. Coniston and its environs is also the setting of Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons.The writer fictionalised many areas around the village and his readers will discover in the museum the sailing dinghy Mavis, the inspiration of Ransome’s fictional Amazon. The museum’s Bluebird Wing has been built as the future home of Donald Campbell’s iconic hydroplane Bluebird K7. This gallery contains extensive displays of memorabilia, a large-screen photographic presentation, touch-screen inter-actives with much background information. the Bristol-Siddeley Orpheus engine that was in the lake for 34 years, and Donald Campbell’s pension plan, the prototype Bluebird JetStar ski-boat.Meanwhile, the Ruskin Museum’s autumn art exhibition is Landscape of Romance, recent works by renowned Cumbrian artist Godfrey Tonks. Telephone 015394-41164.

4. Lakeland Motor Museum features a collection of more than 30,000 exhibits that trace the development of road transport throughout the 20th Century: cycles, motorbikes, motor cars and automobilia. Housed in a converted mill in the heart of the Lake District, the museum is situated adjacent to the A590, between Newby Bridge and Haverthwaite. Telephone 015395-30400.

5. Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery was opened by Carlisle Corporation in 1893 and has large and eclectic collections of zoological, botanical and geological material and has one of the best art galleries is the north of England. including works by Burne-Jones and other Pre-Raphaelite artists, as well as Stanley Spencer, Winifred Nicholson, Sheila Fell and Phil Morsman. Opening on Saturday, October 13 is New Light: The Fourth Biennial Prize Exhibition. Telephone 01228-618718.