'Here's One We Made Earlier' at the Lowry

As an end of summer holiday treat, we took a trip to Salford Quays yesterday. It's been a while since I last visited the Quays - ten years to be precise. In that time, the MediaCityUK complex has opened, which is home to the BBC and ITV as well as other organisations. There's plenty to see and do: the Imperial War Museum North is here, as well as the Lowry Centre, which houses the world's largest collection of L.S. Lowry's paintings. You can take a boat trip on the Manchester Shipping Canal, visit the Lyric Theatre, shop at the outlet mall, or do what we were there to do: see the 'Here's One We Made Earlier' exhibition, which celebrates 90 years of radio and television broadcasting to children.

Once the children realised where we were going, however, we were informed that there were other important things to be seen before we could take a look at the exhibition. The most important of these was the Blue Peter garden, which was moved from London when CBBC was relocated. I hadn't realised that you could actually go into the garden, but indeed you can. There are even signs to point the way.

It felt a bit like a pilgrimage, walking round the pond, taking in the statue of Petra the dog (who died the year I was born), and seeing Goldie's paw print in the cement.

The exhibition itself was outstanding. Entry to the galleries at the Lowry is free, although they do suggest a 'donation amount' of £5 per family, which seemed fair enough, and very reasonable compared with suggested donation amounts I've come across at other places. I had expected it to be very busy, and although there were quite a few people there, it wasn't overcrowded. The children there were all, quite predictably, very excited. The adults wandered round with an entranced, not-quite-there look about them, lost as they clearly were in memories of childhood box-watching. I must admit, it is really quite wonderful to encounter Bagpuss, Humpty from Playschool and Gordon the Gopher up close and in the fur, so to speak.

 My children were delighted to see sets from Wolfblood and Strange Hill High. The youngest read a story in the CBeebies Bedtime Hour window seat. We were all excited to see Helen Skelton's kayak and bike from two of her various Sport Relief challenges. My husband experienced a degree of cycle envy, I do believe.

We had a look round the Lowry Collection, too, and although I love Lowry's paintings, it was all a bit of an anticlimax for the kids, who in spite of our best efforts, couldn't muster up much interest after Hacker, Blue Peter and Shaun the Sheep. Maybe one day, eh?

'Here's One We Made Earlier' is on until October 12th, so there's still time to catch it. See www.thelowry.com for more details.