Boys trip to UK (Full Version)

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pontiouspilot -> Boys trip to UK (10/3/2014 11:59:28 PM)

I have been assigned the the role of presiding over a "boys trip" to UK in spring of '15. For the speculators amongst us buy your scotch futures now!!

I would like a list of museums/sights etc that boys of "our ilk" would enjoy. I have the obvious ones: Duxford, Hendon (is one redundant??), Imp War Museum, Bovington, Portsmouth, Churchill War rooms, Belfast (I guess but a little boring after Mighty MO). I have seen some of these but my buddies have not so all ideas are welcomed.

I can't wait for some of what may be suggested!



rustysi -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 2:36:47 AM)

I would have to go to Bletchley Park, but that's just me. I don't think there's much there, except an old mansion and a bunch of huts.



RogerJNeilson -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 6:14:57 AM)

Slightly of the normal 'tourist tracks, this is great for an immersive feel to the war.

http://www.edencamp.co.uk/

Bovington is not to be missed!

Roger



Ralzakark -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 8:30:21 AM)

Second Bovington Tank Museum, which you mentioned in your original list, and and add the Fleet Air Arm Museum as well.



obvert -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 8:41:22 AM)

Firstly, let me know when you're over. If you're in London I could help find venues to consume good scotch in comfy surroundings, and would love to join on an outing or two.

I found Dover pretty interesting. Lots of activity here, and some remnants remain. There were even arty duels across the channel using the big railway guns! [X(]

Around London the Maritime Museums in Greenwhich are good value, and the Cutty Sark is there.

At the mouth of the Thames are the Mansel Forts (pic below), one of the more evocative and eerie remnants of the war. I think boat tours exist from nearby towns.

Nearby also is also the Liberty Ship SS Richard Montgomery, which sunk in the Thames loaded with explosives. Maybe not so good to visit!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery

[image]local://upfiles/37283/C80655DE8D3C4BA8BB61FB57C785B446.jpg[/image]



wdolson -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 9:09:31 AM)

Didn't somebody turn one of those Channel forts into their own country?

Bill



Encircled -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 12:02:56 PM)

Another recommendation for Bovington here.

Went this summer whilst on our way to France and its fantastic.




btd64 -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 12:15:10 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: rustysi

I would have to go to Bletchley Park, but that's just me. I don't think there's much there, except an old mansion and a bunch of huts.


Me too. also the Tank museum....GP



RogerJNeilson -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 12:48:25 PM)

What I loved about Bovington is the sheer number of vehicles, and the fact you can actually stand right up by them and touch them.

I have a load of photos somewhere - here is one showing just how close you can get

http://didactylos.smugmug.com/photos/i-XDrXMTW/0/XL/i-XDrXMTW-XL.jpg

Roger



Numdydar -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 3:27:07 PM)

OT to the OT :)

At the Aberdeen Proving Ground, the US Army Ordnance Museum in Maryland you can do the same, walk around and touch everything. One thing that really surprised me is just how frigging big tanks are when you are just standing on the ground. Everything is moving to Ft Lee in VA soon which will be a lot better as that is a lot closer to major population centers than Aberdeen is.

http://www.ordmusfound.org/



warspite1 -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 3:36:11 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

I have been assigned the the role of presiding over a "boys trip" to UK in spring of '15. For the speculators amongst us buy your scotch futures now!!

I would like a list of museums/sights etc that boys of "our ilk" would enjoy. I have the obvious ones: Duxford, Hendon (is one redundant??), Imp War Museum, Bovington, Portsmouth, Churchill War rooms, Belfast (I guess but a little boring after Mighty MO). I have seen some of these but my buddies have not so all ideas are welcomed.

I can't wait for some of what may be suggested!
warspite1

IWM Duxford. Get to ride in a Dragon Rapide. We were weighed and sat in specific positions to ensure the plane was not out of balance.... Great fun! [:)]



pontiouspilot -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 3:54:25 PM)

All this is greatly appreciated!

Is it redundant to see both Duxford and Hendon? From one of the above posters I gather one of these also has AFVs, etc....I'm guessing from what I have read that Bovington is the big site for AFV?? Dover is a great idea! Is there anything in Plymouth worthwhile.....I have been to Portsmouth and will take an encore there.



warspite1 -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 4:12:14 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

All this is greatly appreciated!

Is it redundant to see both Duxford and Hendon? From one of the above posters I gather one of these also has AFVs, etc....I'm guessing from what I have read that Bovington is the big site for AFV?? Dover is a great idea! Is there anything in Plymouth worthwhile.....I have been to Portsmouth and will take an encore there.
warspite1

Check out the websites for Hendon and Duxford - I do not know it Hendon does the flights as well.



pontiouspilot -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 4:25:37 PM)

I will let you know details when I have made them. I'm torn about staying in London and travelling out to the various sites versus moving around?? For the southern stops probably better to stay in Portsmouth and travel out from there.

RE: R. Montgomery...lets hope Costsa doesn't operate any cruise ships in area!!!



pontiouspilot -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 4:30:44 PM)

Fleet Air museum....why in hell would this be located in the middle of country!!??...it's potentially on the way to Bovington.



wdolson -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 5:51:49 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

All this is greatly appreciated!

Is it redundant to see both Duxford and Hendon? From one of the above posters I gather one of these also has AFVs, etc....I'm guessing from what I have read that Bovington is the big site for AFV?? Dover is a great idea! Is there anything in Plymouth worthwhile.....I have been to Portsmouth and will take an encore there.


In my experience there is no such thing as too many military museums, but that's probably just me.

Bill



geofflambert -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/4/2014 7:56:04 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: wdolson

Didn't somebody turn one of those Channel forts into their own country?

Bill



Yes, can't remember exactly. A rock band leader? A tech millionaire? Something like that.



obvert -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/5/2014 12:02:17 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

I will let you know details when I have made them. I'm torn about staying in London and travelling out to the various sites versus moving around?? For the southern stops probably better to stay in Portsmouth and travel out from there.

RE: R. Montgomery...lets hope Costsa doesn't operate any cruise ships in area!!!


[:D]

It would be great to meet another forumite here in London. Definitely PM or post details closer to the visit.



Ralzakark -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/5/2014 7:53:32 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

Fleet Air museum....why in hell would this be located in the middle of country!!??...it's potentially on the way to Bovington.


It's at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, an inland base. The Sea Harriers used to be based there when not afloat but now it is given over to helicopters.

It has a large collection of aircraft from WWI through to modern, well worth a look. Unfortunately the museum's own web site is being redeveloped, but you can get an idea of the collection from the wikipedia entry, though it doesn't list everything there such as two Fireflies. They have a Corsair stripped back to its original 1944 paint scheme.



chemkid -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/5/2014 8:18:58 AM)

.



wegman58 -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/5/2014 11:52:06 AM)

Depending on where in England - HMS VICTORY (I wish I took that tour when I had a chance); HMS BELFAST (which I don't think was a museum in 1977) and the Tower. My eyes almost popped out of my head at the size of the emeralds and rubies.



pontiouspilot -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/5/2014 4:24:27 PM)

Victory at Portsmouth....very worthwhile, as was Warrier; I saw it 3 years ago...my buddies will have to see it. When I was there the Mary exhibit was under consruction. It should be done by now.

I saw Belfast 30 years ago on trip just outa law school but it now appears to be part of Imp. War Museum who do a wonderful job of things.














Dixie -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/5/2014 6:51:41 PM)

Where in the UK are you staying/visiting? I may be biased, but a visit to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is always worthwhile. Up to about March the 'planes will be in maintenance so you can see what a WW2 aeroplane looks like when it's in pieces [:D] Spring is also the start of the workup to the flying display season so there's often some flying going on. Plus there are a lot of smaller museums and memorials as well Eurofighter Typhoons if you like small(ish) fast pointy modern stuff.



Encircled -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/5/2014 7:19:41 PM)

[image][IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/s3iruo.jpg[/IMG][/image]

Shame you were not over here last month, as the only two remaining flying Lancaster Bombers in the world were touring the country.



pontiouspilot -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/6/2014 1:42:00 AM)

The trip will hopefully occur in mid-May. Dixie, should a person visit both Hendon and Duxford???



BattleMoose -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/6/2014 3:30:13 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: wdolson

Didn't somebody turn one of those Channel forts into their own country?

Bill


Yes. Principality of Sealand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand

Particularly notable for its invasion and later hostage negotiations.

For a time very many passports were issued and were used largely in shenanigans to get through customs and what not.



AndyDuke -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/6/2014 12:19:21 PM)

Two lesser attractions which are well worth the visit are East Kirkby (home of the Lancaster Just Jane which is undergoing restoration to air worthy condition - On Wednesdays they taxi her around) and The Shuttleworth collection at Old Warden.

I'll post urls to the web sites tonight.



Jellicoe -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/6/2014 12:20:22 PM)

Second all suggestions so far. Belfast was a museum ship back in 77 too. I think it ceased to be flagship of the reserve fleet in about 70 or 71 and became a museum ship shortly afterwards. Not as big as your US BBs but still a veteran of the battle of the north cape and worth a look.

No one has mentioned Chatham dockyard museum yet. Only a short train journey from London. Has HMS Cavalier a war emergency Ca class destroyer along with HMS Gannet a Victorian gunboat and an O class sub too as well as lots of other stuff. Launch site of the Victory. A trip to Kent also offers the opportunity to do some serious wine tasting in the many vineyards as well as drinking a lot of Spitfire bitter. 'Downed all over Kent, just like the Luftwaffe' as the slogan says!



AndyDuke -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/7/2014 7:11:05 AM)

As promised, but a bit late,

Shuttleworth web site is http://shuttleworth.org/

East Kirkby is http://www.lincsaviation.co.uk/



Dixie -> RE: Boys trip to UK (10/7/2014 9:07:28 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

The trip will hopefully occur in mid-May. Dixie, should a person visit both Hendon and Duxford???



I'd say yes as they're both good museums, but it all depends on cost etc.


Hendon is free entrance, but being in London that's the only free part about it [:D] It's very RAF-centric, whilst there are plenty of other things there (He-162, Bf-109 'Black 6') most of the focus is on the Royal Air Force so if you want a variety it's maybe not your thing. They have plenty of unique bits there though. The only original Defiant in the world, 100 Op veteran Lancaster S-Sugar, one of only two original Halifax bombers (in as recovered from the lake bed condition) and some nice Luftwaffe nachtjagers.

Duxford is a bigger site with a wider selection. It's not just military either, they've got plenty of airliners and particularly US stuff. It's also a lot easier to reach if you've got use of your own MT.

Another potentially worthwhile visit is RAFM Cosford, it's the second part of the RAF Museum and houses a lot of stuff not at Hendon. They've got a Cold War exhibit, a TSR.2, a Dinah, Nimrod, PV-2 and a smattering of other foreign stuff.


I'm assuming you're doing London, then I'll also add in the Science Museum as a worthwhile visit. They've got a ton of cool stuff including the only fabric winged Hurricane left and a Battle of Britain Spitfire (and an RB-211 engine, I miss those!) and loads of aero engines which is pretty cool (or maybe I'm a bit special like that). Plus they've got lots of non-aeroplane things. There's also the Natural History Museum next door.

The Tower of London is a good trip as well, get onto one of the guided tours with the Yeoman Warders, you won't regret it.



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