Haven't been to the National Archives, but the people at Durham Archives were a bit like that. They expect you to know what to do even the first time you go and can't be bothered to explain the rules.
Hull History Centre is really good, as is York Archives. In both those places the librarians and researchers seem as interested as you are in what you are looking for as it adds to their knowledge.
Another good one is the mining archive centre, with the Northumbrian records at Woodhorn near Ashington.
“We start school too early in the UK!”


