A brief Tour (part 1)
Opening Times and Admission - pre-booking not required
Normal Opening Times: The Museum is open 10:00-16:00, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Museum will be open until 4pm on Sunday the 7th December 2025 - It will re-open at 10am on Friday 30th January 2026. Admission Prices: Adults £7 ~ Children under 16yrs £5 ~ Children under 4yrs free ~ Family admission (2 Adults & 2 Children) £19. Dogs on leads are welcome on the museum grounds, but only Guide dogs and Assistance dogs are permitted in the exhibition halls, and the Ration Book Cafe. If you have come to visit with your dog, you can walk it around the rear display area of the museum and sit with it on the decking beside the Cafe or in front of the Military Room, but regrettably, we don't have any indoor areas where they can stay during your visit. Thanks for your understanding.
Homefront exhibits
In the Homefront Hall there is a typical ‘shop’ counter of the period displaying numerous products and packaging items, from breakfast cereal to Sunlight Soap to Spam! The cash till, weighing scales and glass jars of sweets all add to the effect. Elsewhere there are Women’s Land Army artefacts, nurse’s uniforms, children’s toys, equipment used in the home at that time from mangles to mincers, 1940’s fashions and items that many older visitors will see and say, ‘I remember those!’.
Genuine Anderson Shelter
Members of the public have been very generous, and on occasion have donated WW2 items that have been in their possession for years or been owned by a close family member who has passed away and they wished to share their memories with others. One such item is an Anderson Shelter which is on display at the edge of the Parade Ground along with some wartime bicycles.
Take to the air - with a flight in our Lancaster flight simulator
Our Lancaster bomber cockpit which was featured in the 2019 film Lancaster Skies, has been fitted with a computer system delivering a 3D VR (virtual reality) flight experience. Adjacent seats are available for the pilot’s family or friends and there is a large screen where they can see what the pilot is seeing through the VR goggles. hear the engines, feel the vibration - be amazed!
The Blitz Experience.
In the Main Hall we have a Blitz Experience which offers a very impressive view of what it was like to be exposed to a WW2 bombing raid. It is only operated live for private group visits when we put on a recorded narrative delivered by an American WW2 reporter of the time Ed Murrow. There are recorded sound effects, spotlights and smoke effects. Seating is provided and all in all, it's a memorable example of what it must have been like for those who had experienced it during the war. Really something to remember. Please note that as all the main lights are turned off, in order to maintain the safety of general visitors in the hall The Blitz Experience is reserved for private group visits only.