The trend is a boon for local economies and small, independent attractions. The tiny, family-run museum that has been struggling to get by on a shoestring budget suddenly finds itself the subject of a glowing online review from a visitor who appreciated its eccentric charm. The community-run cinema that shows old black-and-white films to a handful of loyal patrons discovers a new audience of people who are actively seeking out an alternative to the multiplex blockbuster experience. This is not about finding the next big thing; it is about finding *your* thing, a place that resonates on a personal level, however niche or unusual it might be.
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Examples of these hidden gems are popping up all over the country. There is the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities in Hackney, a gloriously strange cabinet of wonders that has been voted one of the UK’s “weirdest” tourist attractions. There is the Food Museum in Stowmarket, Suffolk, which celebrates the history of what we eat and how we grow it. These are not places that will ever feature on a list of the “Top 10 Things to Do Before You Die.” But they offer something far more valuable: a unique, memorable, and often delightfully quirky experience. The British public has spoken. We have had our fill of queues and crowds. We are turning off the main roads and heading down the winding lanes, in search of the hidden, the secret, and the truly special. The future of leisure is local, and it is wonderfully strange.
