DAYS OUT WITH A DIFFERENCE

From the birthplace of football to Ancient Egypt, pioneering pottery and deep-sea diving, some of the UK's quirkiest museums have joined the ranks of 5,900 collections backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund over the past three decades...

- Matt Nixson

WHAT do pottery, football and deep-sea diving have in common? On the surface, not much, but specialist museums dedicated to these eclectic callings were among the recipients of £7.6million of National Lottery Heritage Fund grants this week.

Since its founding in 1994, museums have been a key element in the organisation's funding, with more than £2.4billion awarded to more than 5,900 museum, library, archive, and collection-based projects across the UK over the last 30 years.

"Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on for future generations, and these museums show that passion and variety," says Eilish McGuinness, the fund's chief executive.

"These projects will inspire visitors of all ages, with many of these collections being revealed for the first time, and all will connect people with individual stories of sport, diving, pottery, archaeology and much more, adding up to a national story covering all the many and varied heritage we have to offer.

"So, no matter what the weather brings this summer, there is always a fantastic museum or heritage place open to discover, explore and enjoy." More than £2.7million of funding announced this week will help create the first national Football Museum for Wales in Wrexham - long considered one of the spiritual homes of the sport.

Dubbed the Museum of Two Halves, it will include a revamp of the city's existing museum alongside the new visitor attraction in the same building.

Wrexham AFC - currently enjoying a new lease of life thanks, in part, to Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - is the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world.

When it opens in 2025-26, the museum will house a permanent display of the Welsh Football Collection for the first time in 24 years. The city museum will meanwhile showcase items that embody more than 4,000 years of local history.