Myself (ex Raf) and daughter (9) visited the arboretum on Armed Forces day (Saturday) I was so touched by the main monument and it appears every single organisation involved with all wars has been remembered in some way or other.
S.O.E talks, a flypast by a hurricane on what was probably the hottest day of the year, play ground for my daughter, stalls inside and lots of events outside. The museum and the staff all very pleasant.
My daughter is pretty switched on and she remarked how moved she was, how large the site is and that Daddy must be very proud to serve his country. Like all service men and women we totally respect the fallen and what a beautiful place for remembering those. Proud to be British indeed.
A special thank you to the volunteer who I spoke briefly with near the museum entrance he took me to the technician memorial. Sir Frank Whittles name along with the intake I was on. I never knew he’d been a techie and it’s all there for everyone to learn from and be a lasting monument.
We’ll be going again in November

A fantastic few hours. Very humbling and thought provoking experience. The memorials are beautiful and in such a tranquil setting. The Armed Forces Memorial was especially humbling. I wish i could thank each and every person who have their lives in order that we may live. This is definately worth a visit. Whether alone, with children everyone is catered for. There are plenty of helpful and friendly staff, all very eager to help and answer any questions you may have.

An excellent Memorial to ALL walks of life both military and civilian. We attended a plaque dedication for 2 young Corporals murdered in pursuit of their duties. A wonderful place to visit.

Stayed at wychnor manor and visited the arboretum what an amazing place very poignant and thought provoking need a couple of days to be honest to see it all bought a tee shirt from shop had a coffee and sand which at shop
They do have golf trolley type things to take you around if poor mobility so that’s a bonus lots to see a must visit for all

Another moving but enjoyable experience. Always things of interest happening. We joined in at The National Service Veterans Memorial for a remembrance service, everyone there were so helpful. There seemed to be activity all around the area, including a Craft and Food Fair. Certainly a place to visit.

Our visit was on a support the arm forces day, it was very was attended, the memorial is beautifully presented and has a feeling of peace and solitude even with the crowds there, The entry is free to the whole memorial arboretum area, which is beautifully keep. There is an excellent cafe and toilet facilities.

We visited with a large group of friends on National Armed Forces day. Although it was understandably very busy, it never seemed crowded. The place is very well designed offering peace and tranquility for reflection, despite huge numbers of visitors. It is a remarkable tribute to so many people. Well worth a visit.

We visited this place yesterday - the hottest day so far this year. It's absolutely amazing place! There's no way you can see all 350 memorials and read all plaques at the trees or names on tiles laid in the pavements. The place is HUGE. There are hundreds of benches to sit on in sun or shadow but you can bring your own picnic blanket and basket and enjoy it on the grass. You can bring your own food and drink but you can also buy it at very good café/restaurant. I think that everyone should visit it and it's not only for older generation but families with children too. As I have problem with my knee we reserved wheel chair about two weeks prior our visit which was excellent. The entry is free. What we realized was that we hardly saw birds and they would be very much needed there as many trees were heavily damaged by caterpillars - so please put bird nest boxes around. Also we haven't see rubbish bins but somehow it works - there was no rubbish at all (!!) on the grass and there were thousands and thousands of folks. I wonder why the people cannot take their rubbish home on other places as it happening here. We will definitely come back as we would like to see more. I can highly recommend to visit it - you will not be disappointed.

I love my country and respect those who protect us.
This place should be a compulsory visit for every school child and adult in this country of ours.
Visited on the occasion of Armed Forces Weekend so it was very busy and lively.
Looking forward to seeing the same place in the quiet of a winter afternoon.

This is one place you should visit. Tkae your time, and even go back again on another day because you will miss areas. The whole place has been well designed and is a beautiful and restfull place to be. there are so many memorials to different regiments, services, etc, and of course the 'centre piece' is the Armed Forced memorial, set on a hill, surrounded by columsn of trees. The names of some 16000 service personnel who have died since the end of the2nd world war are engraved on slabs of Portland Stone. there are over 350 memorials with more being added. There are staff around who will answer any questions, and if you are seeking a particular service or name, they can usually help; I managed to find memorials to the Burma Star association (my dad served in Burma), a memorial to those who did their National Service, piece of the origianl Burma railyway and Sumartan railway, etc. Unfortunately the 2nd day we visited, we had had torrential rain, and because there is a river running along side the Arboratum, it had burst its banks and flooded many of the lower areas, so we could not access them. In my opinion one of the best things to see

We had prebooked tickets for the land train, so had to go despite the rain. We were in time for the 2 minute silence, held every day, and then had our train ride. Despite the rain, it was good - very helpful in getting an overview of the arboretum. After lunch in the 'restaurant', the rain had stopped, and we were able to walk to some of the memorials we wished to see. However, the ground was sodden, and there were huge puddles everywhere, so we didn't stay as long as we had hoped.

The architects of this memorial have done a wonderful job in the variety of ways in which so many servicemen and women are commemorated
My advice to someone planning a visit is to consider just visiting a part of the park and taking your time to walk around slowly and take in what ir represents. Trying to spend a day here was too overwhelming, better to take 2-3 hours and come back again
The land train is a 'must' to get the overview of the site at 2mph
The photographic exhibition capturing vignettes from participants of D- Day was excellently presented

This beautiful place of memorial is spread over a huge site; we were glad there was a land train to get a good overview of the main memorials. The trees are becoming more mature now and seem a fitting way to reflect & remember. We only looked at a small fraction of the fine memorials & we want to visit again to look at other specific ones. The site seems to be lovingly cared for by volunteers & really you could visit many times, on different days & in different seasons and enjoy new views of the trees and sculptures. The cafe was great; good coffee & gluten & dairy-free cake to be had. The gift shop has very good quality items for sale, many with poppy motifs, whichwas very fitting. I found a pretty poppy item as a small gift to give to recently bereaved neighbour, just so she knows we care & we remember.

TripAdviser Reviews

NMA June 14th 2019

I had a meeting at the National Memorial Arboretum and later decided to look around to view areas and places I had not been before during my previous visits.

The first place I went to was a small but well stocked souvenir shop, to the left outside the main centre. It has quite a range of interesting items.

My second visit was the Landscapes of Life Exhibition which was a very educational experience. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter captured with stories and pictures from a wide range of people of different backgrounds, reflecting a good cross section the community. There is a seated cinematic room with a rolling screen showing a wide variety of people and places. The Landscape of Life Exhibition also contains many, many stories of lives of individuals. I highly recommend a visit to this room, and it is FREE entrance.

I would also highly recommend visiting the many monuments and memorials, over 380, scattered around the grounds. Parking is £3 for the day and you can hire a scooter or be driven around as a part of a guided tour (guided tour is advisable as you will definitely learn more). Don’t forget to take your camera and give yourself the whole day to spend at this wonderful place.

Me and the wife visited this amazing place this week just the shear size is unbelievable went for the service at 11am even though it is a recording it was very emotional took a buggy trip for £6 each which all goes to the keep of the place we were going to take the road train trip as well but because a lot of rain parts were flooded we had a great day

1st visit today and I can't get over just what a fantastic place this is. The setting is wonderful-very peaceful and easy to find a quiet spot on your own. There is such a sense of tranquillity there is does your soul good. Above all the staff are exceptional and nothing is too much trouble. I went today as part of a corporate volunteer group and we were all made so welcome and that the small amount of work we did was truly appreciated-we felt very proud to have served in a small way. The time taken by Tom helping me find my great uncle was really special and I will definitely return with the rest of my family.
There is a big car park-plenty of toilets and a lovely café .

This is one of the most amazing places I have been. although it is free to go in, the audio tour costs, but it is well worth the money, Be sure to give yourself a lot of time to have a really good walk round, this is not a quick walk place, unfortunately for the friends I went with, they let me off alone, so much to see.

My second visit to the Arboretum and every bit as serene as before despite a number of more commercial developments.
First time round, we visited the 'permanent marquee' that was serving as the cafeteria/restaurant. This time it is within the main reception building and is every bit as good as before. Something about it screamed private in-house catering. So many organisations outsource this aspect of their business to the biggies and service, quality and standards plummet - not to mention prices going up, up and up.. Here the staff are smart, clean, happy and really provide a brilliant service - as for the quality of food? Top of the house. Their Cottage pie was piping hot, served with quality vegetables and the meat/potato topping was delicious. I may be wrong but pretty certain I am not. Great too, that High St coffee chains are noticeable by their absence - a real bonus.
All the staff on site (most if not all are volunteers) are knowledgeable, friendly and given the look and feel of the grounds, the memorials are all thought provoking and really do the organisations justice.
A couple of minor points which I heard a number of visitors commenting on.
The tour train, whilst mentioned as hop off is just that. At £6 ph and attracting many elderly who may not be too mobile, it really should provide a hop ON and off service. Cannot be an impossible thing to manage and would be massively appreciated by many.
Not too happy about the ticketing system if you purchase at the train. Surely handing over fairly significant cash, receiving a non auditable ticket and seeing it taken back by the driver is a fraud risk of the first degree. Whilst I am not in any way casting suspicion on the individuals on the day we were there, I am sure no accountant or security professional would recognise this as a secure way to protect cash.
Having travelled there by coach, when we went outside to wait, no seating was available where the bus stopped - perhaps some seating alongside the building would be a nice thing to have - especially for the elderly.
Noticeable too, that things which were 'free' when we first visited (guided tours etc.), seem now to attract a charge and although not a lot, it soon adds up.

excellent place to come to with lots to see and to learn from some of the memorials are great and you will learn a lot from them you will need more than one visit to see roun this place

We visited here with friends recently and was absolutely blown away by how beautiful the arboretum is. Words cannot describe exactly how to explain this venue of interest, other than...... WOW!

It is so lovely to walk around the whole gardens and spend time reading and understanding what our men and women went through all those years ago. There are alot of photo opportunities here of some fantastic monuments to cherish and look back on time and time again. You will be here for hours as we were, so so wonderful.
The restaurant on site has a nice selection of food and drink but the prices are a little expensive in my opinion. Can always take a picnic if needs be.

All in all if you want a history lesson day out make sure you visit here one day as you will not ne disappointed at all.

WE were pleasantly surprised to see all the development that has happened since we visited 2 years ago. The latest memrial unveiled was for the capturing of Pegasus Bridge in France, in WW2, It is still free entry, but the guided walks, land train, Buggy tours require payment. A marvellous remembrance for such a variety of enlisted and civilians caught in the horror of war. As it was nearly the 75th.anniversary of D-day, the place was humming. I would encourage everyone to visit, it is such an eye-opening experience, There were lots of visitors in military/retired uniforms, plus many school groups. "Lest we Forget" .

Fascinating and beautiful grounds. I found it terribly sad and emotional. Could spend half a day if not more looking around. The land train wasn't running when we visited due to flooding of some areas.

This is an impressive and moving memorial to the services and service personnel, very comprehensive and laid out in beautiful gardens, helpful staff, great café and good parking facilities. It is well sign posted and easy to find.
Well worth the visit

I visited for the first time yesterday, having looked at the website I realized that my 83yr old father would struggle to get around the site so i booked a "Tailor Made Tour".
Money well spent.
We had a fantastic day despite poor weather.
We were met before we got as far as the information desk. Sue the lady assigned to be our guide for the day was lovely very helpful and knowledgeable.
After a chat to plan our day and a hot drink we set off on a buggy which is fully wheelchair accessible, we broke the tour by attending the service in the chapel at 11am. When we got back on the buggy Sue produced blankets for our legs as it was a little chilly.
At 1 o'clock we returned to the center for an included 2 course lunch with waiter service, on a reserved table set nicely with a tablecloth and personalized menu. Dave the volunteer looking after us was , again lovely.
And after lunch we went out again for a third trip round the site.
We finished out tour at 3pm as we were part of a larger visiting group, but would have been hosted longer had we required it.
Nothing was too much trouble.
The Arboretum itself is magnificent. Hundreds of beautiful monuments, glorious gardens and a wonderful sense of respect for all it serves to remember.

Dad wants to go back again, hopefully in better weather and use a mobility scooter to explore in more detail!
Thanks to everyone who made his day so special.

This is not our first visit and will not be our last, beautiful grounds, memorials and thought provoking information. Very helpful staff and volunteers. Plenty of walks, many places to sit and take in the beauty of the place. Both the restaurant and coffee shop serve good food and drinks at a quite reasonable price but like most places today the cakes are rather expensive. £3 per day car parking a snip, well laid out car park close to the entrance too. We only managed to see a small part of this wonderful place but will be back later in the year. Please allow plenty of time to take it all in.