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The Rat Trail

Can you find the 12 rats hidden in our galleries? Each one wears a beautiful handmade costume, representing different experiences of countryside childhood.

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Explore the past and present of the English countryside, and the people whose lives and work define it.

About The MERL

Getting here

6 Redlands Road, Reading, RG1 5EX
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Opening hours

Full opening hours

Upcoming Events

Displays

Ladybird in Focus: Behind the Hamster

Discover how a Ladybird book is made following the journey of a curious hamster.

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Dates

8 September 2026 – 5 September 2027

Author

Family, Public

Location
The Museum of English Rural Life
All the rats in the Rat Trail, posing for the camera in our galleries
Trail

Rat Trail

Can you find the 12 rats hidden in The Museum of English Rural Life?

Find out more
Dates

Year-round

Author

Family

Location
The Museum of English Rural Life
MERL Curator Ollie Douglas standing in front of the Welcome Case at The MERL
Talks and Seminars

Gallery Tour: MERL 75

Join us on a whistle-stop gallery tour through 75 years of The MERL!

Book Now
Dates

Tuesday 22 September 2026, 13:00 – 14:00

Author

Public

Price

Free, booking suggested

Location
The Museum of English Rural Life
All events and exhibitions

Latest News and Views

Merle the bat, asleep in a glove
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
August 19, 2026

So we found a live bat in our galleries (again)

Seven years after we gave a bat a library card, another bat has visited The Museum of English Rural Life.

three glass pint milk bottles
Author
Madeleine
/
Published Date
June 15, 2026

Milking Time: Bacteriology and Pasteurisation

Explore the University of Reading’s role in dairying research into milk pasteurisation.

Richard Watts film archive
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
May 12, 2026

Watts in the Country: Inclusive Approaches to Rural Film (with the BFI)

We’re collaborating with film NGO Real Time, volunteers, and focus groups to bring the Richard Watts archival film collection to rural communities across Britain.

Author
Madeleine
/
Published Date
March 6, 2026

International Women’s Day 2026: Hidden histories

Discover the stories of three women curators, collectors, and designers in the 20th century.

Handwriting in a farm letter
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
February 25, 2026

Queer histories in the farm records

What can farm records teach us about same-sex relationships? Researcher Tim Jerrome shares his work exploring queer rural experiences.

Exterior of E.M. Barraud's cottage in Cambridgeshire
Author
Lottie
/
Published Date
February 19, 2026

“I am the farm worker going home at evening”: gender fluidity, rural landscapes, and the Women’s Land Army

Library trainee Lottie Wood reflects on gender fluidity in the work of E. M. Barraud, and Barraud’s reflections on her time in the Women’s Land Army

All news and views