Officially recognised by the world record people from Guinness, this really is the biggest pencil on the planet. The museum shows how pencils are made, why they’re made in the Lake District (a ripe seam of graphite exists there) and even their exploits in the Second World War (secret maps and compasses were smuggled inside pencils). It’s not the greatest factory museum in the world, but then perhaps it never intended to be. The star of the show, as far as many are concerned, is the giant yellow beast in the middle of the room.