United Kingdom

RAF Museum, Hendon, London

January 15, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

London can seem awash with museums, but I’m not sure that all the ones away from the centre are as well known. That certainly seems to be the case with the RAF Museum in Hendon. It may be out in Zone 4, but it’s only a 30 minute tube ride, and not far from the M1 if you’re travelling by car.

For anyone with an interest in aviation, military or just technology in general you won’t be disappointed with the RAF Museum, and there’s so much to see and do there that it’s very easy to spend a full day at the museum.

For those that may have visited the museum before, it is worth pointing out that there has been quite a re-vamp over the last few years with the museum reopening in 2018 to celebrate the RAF’s 100th anniversary.

What is there to see at the RAF Museum?

Our visit to the RAF Museum took in the newest part of the museum’s offering – Hangar 1 – which focuses on the first 100 years of the RAF. With lots of real life accounts of what it is like to work and live as part of the RAF’s family it is a great way to start your visit to the museum.

There’s plenty to read and look at, but for kids (large and small) there are also several hands on games to help you get a feel for the skills needed by the RAF.

This hangar also features the RAF First to the Future gallery which uses simulators and other interactive exhibits to help visitors really get an understanding of what it is like to be a Hawk pilot or a drone operator. My older kids both had an absolute ball in this part of the museum.

With only half a day at the museum we didn’t have time to visit all the hangars, but did spend an enjoyable hour or more in hangars 3, 4 and 5 that no only house the indoor picnic space (brilliant if you’re trying to have a winter day out on a budget) but also everything that comes under the broad heading of War in the Air 1918 – 1980.

With separate sections on the Battle of Britain, Bomber Command, Helicopters and Wings over Water it really does cover a huge range in the same way that the RAF itself does. My kids’ favourite part of these hangars though is always the section that houses a reconstruction of an aircraft factory that was hit during a bombing raid. Not only does it open up an interesting conversation with the kids about where the enemy might target, but my kids are always super excited about the fact that there’s running water to depict a water pipe having been hit!

RAF Themed Kids Playground

With only half a day at the museum we simply didn’t have time to see everything, but it is worth mentioning the playground area. My kids always need somewhere to let off a bit of steam and there is a brilliant RAF themed outdoor play area – think planes and helicopters, as well as a model of one of the nearby buildings on the site. It’s nicely fenced off to keep it safe, lots to do for all ages, and for the parents the cafe with outdoor tables is right next door! You can tell a parent was involved in the planning of that.

Practicalities of visiting

One of the best bits about the RAF Museum is that it is free to visit. They do ask for donations and you do have to pay for car parking – but the charges for it are very reasonable, especially when you consider that you’re not being hit by a high entry fee.

If you’re planning a visit to the RAF Museum in Hendon there’s a brilliant page on their website about getting there. There’s also plenty of information on the site about the different hangars and what they contain, as well as details on exhibitions and special events.

If you’re not near London, did you know that they also have a separate RAF Museum in Cosford in Shropshire?

Want to read more?

If you’re looking for places to go on a family day out, or museums to visit then make sure you take a look at the other places we’re written about here on Penny Travels.

Disclaimer: We visited the RAF Museum in London in January 2020. We did so of our own free will and were not asked in any way to write about our visit.

Edinburgh in a day – from Bedfordshire!

August 23, 2019 by Penny 1 Comment

I like to try and think big when it comes to school summer holidays. Big, but in my budget! With a new baby in the family funds haven’t exactly been plentiful lately, but I was still determined to give my elder two kids the best summer holiday I could. Lots of variety and plenty of fun and excitement. It was with those two things in mind that I came up with the slightly mad idea of taking them to Edinburgh for the day. From Bedfordshire!

Luton to Edinburgh

We’re lucky enough to live about 15 minutes drive from Luton Airport which means that cheap flights to a variety of places are pretty much on our doorstep. With that in mind I managed to find that Easyjet have a flight from Luton to Edinburgh that leaves just before 9am in the morning, and a return one that departs Edinburgh at 9pm. Perfect to be able to fit in a day of sightseeing in Edinburgh.

The other motivation behind my trip with that Little Miss C and Master C had no recollection of ever going on an aeroplane. LMC went to Madeira with me and her dad when she was under 2 and both of them came with us on a trip to Denmark for a wedding when Master C was just 9 months old. They’ve both been desperate to fly somewhere for a while, but the cost and work schedules meant that it didn’t really look possible this summer. I’d already got a long weekend planned in Norfolk as a “proper” holiday, so decided that a slightly mad day trip would make the whole thing even more exciting for them.

Making the most of our time was key with this trip, so we bit the bullet and paid for on airport parking at Luton. This meant that we were able to leave home at 6.30am, get to the airport at 6.45am and by some sort of a miracle by 7.15am we were already through security and sat enjoying a second breakfast airside. Why isn’t it ever that fast when Bonn is going through there for work?

Edinburgh Tram

At the other end we took advantage of Edinburgh’s tram system. Just a short walk from the airport’s arrival hall is the tram stop and from there it takes you straight to Princes Street in just 30 minutes. It’s super convenient and not that expensive either. Master C had also been asking to travel on a tram somewhere for ages so it kept him rather happy.

We went to Edinburgh without any real plans as to what we’d do for the day so it was a bit of a case of just going with what we found once there. When we got off the tram we headed over towards the Royal Mile (via the Golden Arches for lunch!) and soon found ourselves part of the crowd for a street magician as part of the run up to the Edinburgh Fringe. The kids thought this was fantastic fun and thoroughly enjoyed this unexpected bit of entertainment.

Continuing up the Royal Mile we headed towards the castle, stopping off on our way at numerous souvenir shops so the kids could admire the various kilts on offer and the variety of Harry Potter merchandise that everywhere seems to sell.

Camera Obscura and World of Illusions

After admiring the castle from outside (I wasn’t nuts enough to pay to try to go round it with a baby in a pushchair!) we then headed back to the Camera Obscura and World of Illusions. Years ago I visited the Camera Obscura and thought it would be a fun thing for the kids to see. What I hadn’t banked on though was the amazing World of Illusions that it is now part of. I thought we’d stay there an hour or so and then head on to the Museum of Scotland. How wrong I was!

We ended up at the World of Illusions for the rest of the day. The kids thought it one of the most amazing places they’d ever been, and I’m inclined to agree with them. I’ll explain exactly why in a separate blog post – watch this space.

All too soon our day in Edinburgh was coming to an end and we hot-footed it back to Princes Street via a quick pizza and a wander down Victoria Street (supposedly JK Rowling’s inspiration for Diagon Alley) to pop in the various Harry Potter themed shops there.

Travel broadens the mind

I won’t deny that we only feel like we’ve scratched the surface with Edinburgh, but that just gives us an excuse to return again. The aim of the day was to give the kids an adventure, and that’s certainly what we achieved. From leaving Luton full of apprehension about what flying was going to be like, they returned confident flyers. Purposefully climbing the stairs of the aircraft at Edinburgh without even a backwards glance.

They say that one of the most important parts of parenting is giving your children experiences to help them in future life. I like to think that’s exactly what I achieved with this trip. After all, travel broadens the mind like nothing else.

Riding the Helter Skelter at Norwich Cathedral

August 14, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

As we set off towards the Norfolk coast for a weekend away we had vague plans to stop somewhere en route to break the journey up for the kids and to stretch our legs. We had no idea quite where we’d find to have that break, but as the radio news came on a slightly mad idea started to form. The SatNav was quickly reprogrammed for Norwich Cathedral and off we went!

But just what was it that we’d heard that suddenly made all 4 of us in the car able to talk determined to go to visit a cathedral? News of them placing a 50ft Helter Skelter in the nave of the cathedral was what swang it for us.

It’s fair to say that the response to this bold move has been somewhat mixed. There are people (both within the church community and outside) who think it is a brilliant idea. A great way of encouraging people into a cathedral that might mot normally go there. And a way of also creating noise and laughter in a place that is normally filled with hushed whispers and quiet prayer.

On the flip side there are also people (who mainly seem to be within the church community, but some outside it too) who believe that it is totally the wrong thing to do. Some even going as far as saying that it is disrespectful.

Personally I fall into the former camp. I’m not a religious person, but I admire those churches that do try and welcome the whole community into their place of worship. Whether that be to play crazy golf (as is apparently the case at Rochester), to watch a football match on a big screen, or to take a trip down a vintage Helter Skelter. I think that the silence and formality of many churches can put people off from stepping inside.

In Norwich’s case the Helter Skelter is part of their Seeing It Differently exhibition. It’s there, along side other activities to encourage visitors to look at the cathedral in a different way, in particular the roof bosses that people don’t usually get to be so close to.

The Helter Skelter itself is a beautiful vintage wooden one. Although it looks slightly bonkers sat there towering above everything else, it also has sufficient vintage charm to look strangely right there. I imagine that in darkness it will look even better when lit up.

Now, I’ve been on Helter Skelter before and generally don’t have a problem with heights or speed, but flipping heck it’s a ride and a half coming down. Firstly, there’s the slightly strange surroundings. You find yourself suddenly hurtling towards a stained glass window before twisting your way down towards a stone wall. It’s certainly one of the fastest heater shelters I’ve been on, and also one that really does throw you around a bit. It’s a completely exhilarating ride though and without meaning to I found myself screaming as I went down.

I did take a look up at the ceiling bosses whilst up there, although I also found it quite amusing that the volunteers at the top were busy explaining to so many visitors what ceiling bosses actually were. It seems being a kids when Blue Peter ran a competition to help design the new bosses to go on the repaired roof at York Minster after their devastating fire taught me something useful.

I’m so glad we happened to have the car radio on as we drove last week. Without it we wouldn’t have had what my kids simply describe as a “bonkersly brilliant” experience. Thanks Norwich!

Seeing It Differently runs from Thursday 8 August until Sunday 18 August 2019.

The helter skelter ride costs £2 per person. All the other Seeing It Differently installations are free.

General opening times for Seeing It Differently are 10am-5pm Monday to Saturday and 12 noon-3pm on Sundays.

Riding an upcycled D-stock from Ridgmont to Bletchley – the Martson Vale Line

May 27, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

The idea of needing to recycle and upcycle is everywhere at the moment. And understandably so. What not everyone realises though is that it’s not just things at home that can be recycled. Have you ever thought about recycling a train? Those people at Vivarail have. That’s exactly what they’ve done with their new Class 230s. They’re upcycled D-stock trains that previously used to run on the London Underground.

Upcycled trains

It’s really a fascinating bit of engineering where they have been converted from electric trains that take power from a third rail into diesel two car units.

The Marston Vale line, a community rail partnership run by London Northwestern that goes between Bedford and Bletchley, has three of these two car units (one to go in each direction, and a spare). I’m pretty sure any London Underground fan wants to go and ride them, just as much as they do the Island Line vintage trains down on the Isle of Wight.

We decided to take a trip along part of the Marston Vale line with the kids, partly as as way of making a trip to Bletchley Park more attractive to my six year old, London Underground and train loving son. It did the trick. The idea of an upcycled D-stock, or as he put it a “recycled underground train” made it a very attractive option. We decided to start our journey at Ridgmont Station, which is conveniently located extremely close to the M1 at junction 13.

Ridgmont Station

I’d heard of Ridgmont before and wanted to go and suss the place out before a return trip with less children. It is an unstaffed station, but one with a small heritage centre and shop, as well as a well respected tea rooms. We will be back to do the place justice in the future.

The other thing that made me choose it as a place to start our journey was the convenient car park just across the tracks. It may not be large, but by the time we returned to our car we were the only ones parked there. And it was free too!

At the moment you can’t buy tickets at the station (the Heritage Centre don’t sell them, but the staff there are incredibly useful at answering any train related questions you might have) but we spotted a ticket machine under wraps on one of the platforms, so I’m guessing it’s coming soon. For now though you buy tickets on the train itself from the onboard staff. They can accept credit cards and railcards on board much as you can at any ticket office.

What’s a class 230 like?

The trains themselves look incredibly smart, and although their basic structure is recognisable from the District Line, the differences are remarkable.

Firstly, the ability to squeeze in a Diesel engine. I guess it makes you realise just how big all the electric motors originally were. The new livery looks incredibly smart though, and to those not in the know I don’t think you’d guess that you were on something up cycled.

Inside the train there are a few hints to what went before. The doors between the two units are obviously to anyone that has travelled on older underground trains. The sideways seating that is used in part of the train is also a bit of a giveaway. Elsewhere in the train though they’ve put in usual “airline” seating and even a few tables too. A far cry from what people used to put up with on the District Line.

Another nice addition is charging points. The tables and airline seats have proper three pin plugs, but the sideways seating has USB ports at the base of the arm rests. Perfect for commuters who needy to give their phone a quick burst of charge.

The other thing they’ve squeezed in is an on-train toilet. Even though I have to admit that it did seem to smell a bit on the train we were on!

The outside of them all has been very artistically decorated with images of Bletchley Park, not just the Manor House, but also the Bombe computer too. How they’ve managed it though is quite impressive. The D-stock feels a whole lot more spacious than it ever used to and you really do feel like you are travelling on more than just a two car unit.

Bletchley Park

The real purpose behind our trip was to get to Bletchley so that we could do a family trip to Bletchley Park. This amazing slice of WW2 history is located just a short walk away from Bletchley Station and is well worth a visit. Bletchley played a pivotal, very secret, role in the war and it’s only over the last 20 or so years that the full truth has come out as to what went on there. The museum itself is incredible. Full of fascinating information and making full use of modern day technology to tell the story of Bletchley Park. We feel like we only scratched the surface after a couple of hours there and we will definitely be back for a return visit. Especially since your ticket is valid for a whole 12 months. If you’re an English Heritage member you can even get 20% off the admission price. Once we’ve been back expect to see a much more detailed account of our visit here on Penny Travels.

Once our visit was over though it was back on the train to Ridgmont. It seems the Marston Vale line is actually far busier than I expected it to be, with many people using it as part of their regular commute to and from work. As a visitor though it felt well worth the trip to see just how it is possible to upcycle a train and surely it’s somewhere you just have to visit if you’re a proper London Underground fan.

Colourscape at Waddesdon Manor

May 22, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

We never need much of an excuse to visit Waddesdon Manor. This wonderful National Trust property belonged to the Rothchild family and is an amazing chateau style building packed with history and fantastic architecture. The gardens look beautiful throughout the year and to keep the children happy there is an amazing hillside playground that suits all ages. What I wasn’t expecting during a visit last year was the amazing, unique spectacle that is Colourscape.

It’s hard to explain exactly what Colourscape is, but I’ll try my best. Really though it is one of those things that you just have to experience for yourself.

What is Colourscape?

In short, Colourscape is 56 interlinked colourful chambers that visitors walk through. It’s a bit like being inside a maze of tents, but please don’t let that clumsy description put you off. The you arrived you take off your shoes and are also asked to wear a coloured cloak like garment.

As you walk through the entrance and into the first the colourful chambers your senses start to get confused. the colour of the chamber combined with the light effects m can that everything starts to take on different colours. Some of the cloak colours mean that some visitors start to bland in with the chamber they’re stood in, whilst others look like they’re wearing different colours.

Walking from chamber to chamber you start to feel a little disorientated. Have you been through this bit before? What colour is this? Being barefoot you can feel the ground under the “tent” floor beneath your feet and it reminded me of holidays. The overall feeling is somewhat magical.

In one chamber (the only one with natural light) there are a group of musicians, and their music is piped through the whole Colourscape structure, making your visit one for all the senses.

What age is Colourscape for?

In our group we had my then five year old son, my teenage step-daughter, right up to my mum in her mid-seventies. All of us absolutely loved it. I saw toddlers going around transfixed by the colours and how everything looked different. Colourscape really is for the whole family.

Over a year later we still talk about this particular visit to Waddesdon and just how magical it was. I’m delighted to see that Colourscape is returning to Waddesdon this year (25 May – 2 June 2019) and urge you to go and visit this amazing colourful world for yourself.

Colourscape – the facts

Colourscape is at Waddesdon Manor from 25 May to 2 June 2019. More details can be found here. Please note that the charge for Colourscape is on top of the standard Waddesdon entry fee (which is waived if you are a National Trust member). It is £5 for adults and £3 for children.

British Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum at Tring

April 8, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

I think it fair to say that most people know about the Natural History Museum in London. It’s world famous. The dinosaurs there, especially “Dippy” the diplodocus who was there for over one hundred years, have been the reason for so many children (and adults) wanting to visit. There are about 80 million items in the museum’s collection and there’s something there to entertain and fascinate anyone with an interest in natural history.

What isn’t so well known, is that the Natural History Museum has a smaller second museum in the Hertfordshire market town of Tring. The Natural History Museum at Tring was originally the private museum of Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild and it is located in the grounds of the former Rothschild family home of Tring Park. If you’re at all local to Tring, you probably know of the Rothschild family from one of their other current houses, Waddesdon Manor, which is currently open to the public, under the care of the National Trust.

Natural History Museum at Tring

The Natural History Museum at Tring houses one of the country’s finest collections of stuffed mammals, birds, reptiles and insects and there’s no wonder that so many local children simply know it as the “animal museum”. The history of how it came to be is fascinating, and the museum has a room dedicated to Rothschild and the life that he dedicated to the study of animals. At the age of seven he declared to his parents that he was going to “make a museum” and he did just that. There’s a short version of what he did over on the museum’s website, but the detail provided at the museum itself is well worth a read.

The museum has five other galleries with permanent exhibitions in which range from a zebroid foal (a hybrid between a horse and a zebra) to a whole selection of domestic dogs. If you have young children it is particularly lovely for them to visit and be able to get up close to so many animals, especially as many of the display cases are right down to the floor, meaning that children can see many exhibits for themselves without having to be lifted up. Gallery 1 has a beautiful vintage feel to it and walking around you can easily feel like you’re back in a different era.

British Dinosaurs

The reason for my most recent visit (and the second visit for four month old Tube Stop Baby – which shows how much we like the place!) was to see their most recent temporary exhibition in Gallery 2 – British Dinosaurs.

Photograph kindly provided by Natural History Museum, Tring and copyright The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

The museum in London may be world famous for their dinosaur collection, but this exhibition focusses on British Dinosaurs, and the ones that still live among us in our gardens and parks. As you enter the gallery the first thing that hits you is the large map on the floor, showing where dinosaurs are known to have lived. My kids knew all about the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, thanks to a recent holiday with their Dad, but they were surprised to find out that dinosaurs were known to have been in so many other parts of the country.

In Tring children can measure themselves against the femur and tibia of an Iguanodon (one of the first dinosaurs to be discovered). They can see the massive Baryonyx walkeri skull and think about how huge this dinosaur could be by looking at backbone specimens that were found in Surrey. Their teeth can be compared to Megalosaurus bucklandii teeth found in Oxfordshire.

There are also a couple of interactive exhibits that my kids learnt loads from. Any excuse to touch a touch screen and they’ll take it!

What we thought

At 6 and 8, Little Miss C and Master C really enjoyed the British Dinosaurs exhibition, as well as wondering around the rest of the museum again. They also seemed to learn plenty too, especially LMC who spent quite a while reading about all the dinosaur exhibits.

I’m not going to lie, if your children are expecting to see huge dinosaur skeletons towering over them, then you should head for London instead, but as part of a bigger visit to the museum it’s a brilliant opportunity to learn about the dinosaurs that used to live here. The kids enjoyed the opportunity to touch a dinosaur tooth and to think about just how old it was in comparison to their ages. They also made a point of finding the reptile skin I’m gallery 6 so that they could get a feel for what a dinosaur would have felt like.

The kids have been going to the museum since they were very young, but they still enjoy going back. Little Miss C even did a “Roars and Snores” event recently with Brownies where they spent an evening in the museum learning about the exhibits, dissecting owl pellets and under standing how taxidermy is done. They then all slept on the floor next to some of the exhibits. She did say it was a tad scary to wake in the night with a deer peering down at her!

Visiting the Natural History Museum at Tring

The British Dinosaurs exhibition is running at Tring from 5 April to 11 October 2019. The Natural History Museum is located at The Walter Rothschild building, Akeman Street, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 6AP and is a short walk from the centre of Tring. There is a car park on site, but it can get very busy, so you are sometimes better off parking else where and walking. Entry to the museum, including the British Dinosaurs exhibition, is free. For full detail of the museum’s opening hours, please look at their website.

The whole museum is accessible with a pushchair, you just need to go in via the entrance off the car park, rather than the main entrance which has steps leading up to it. There is a cafe on site that has recently had a revamp. I’m told it is very good, but every time I have tried to visit the queue has been out of the door! I’m taking that as a sign that it is as good as I’ve been told.

A final word

My final word would be to say that when you go, please go and look at the Emperor Penguins and work out why the one on the left looks so strange. A member of staff explained it to me when we were there last week and it’s a fascinating story. Make sure you ask them if you can’t work it out for yourself.

Disclaimer: We were guests at a preview opening of the British Dinosaurs exhibition at Tring and the kids were given a vast quantity of bread sticks and crisps to much whilst there. All opinions remain my own.