National Memorial Arboretum

4.9/5 based on 11458 reviews
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Unsure what to expect but very tasteful and peaceful. It gets your mind thinking of how grateful we should be to all the people and animals who lost there lives. Time just disappear while you are there.
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Wondeful tribute for all those have served in conflicts around the world. Now that the new visitors centre and restaurant has been opened it is definitely well worth visiting.
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I am a Cocker Spaniel called Mia and I live in Lincoln. My owners take me to the arboretum but I am not allowed in certain parts of the memorials. This is sad because dogs worked very hard in wars, tracing bombs and mines. They looked after their soldiers and stayed by their side protecting them. Many dogs have been killed in action over the years or badly wounded.

I think it is a shame that I can't look at more at the arboretum. I am always on a lead and my owners always 'poop my scoop'. So that my owner can look at everything I stay in the car with my lady owner so he can wander off without us.

Please let dogs in. The owners will keep them on their leads!
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A place to celebrate the forces, past, present and future. Lovely to just walk around at your own leisure, a guided tour or walk the dog. Cafe serves excellent homemade food, cakes etc. There's a British Legion shop for gifts and lots more.
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We visited the National Memorial Arboretum again with friends taking a guided buggy tour which takes about two hours as there is so much to see with over 300 monuments a volunteer guide is really helpful as they are so knowledgable.

The new Remembrance Centre is spectacular with a thought provoking exhibition area, restaurant, coffee shop, retail and teaching facilities for schools

Apart from all the monuments including the impressive Armed Forces Memorial there are acres of grounds and gardens to see a place to revisit in all seasons
tripadvisor.co.uk
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The National Memorial Arboretum is stunning.
Ample parking which is £3.00 for the day, the money goes to the Arboretum funds.
The ladies on reception were so friendly and we opted for a 45 minute buggy ride the cost was £5.00 each. Our driver was very knowledgeable and as it was cold blankets were provided for our legs. Afterwards we strolled round on our own. The shot at dawn statue gave me goose bumps the ages of those shot was so young.
We had lunch in the restaurant which was superb, the staff carried my sisters tray as she is disabled lovely touch and very much appreciated.
I can't express strong enough please visit.
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Easy to park and staff welcoming at the door. There's a £3 parking fee for the day.

The Arboretum is free to walk around but there are other activities available that you need to pay for. The grounds are very well kept and there's probably enough to see to pass on a good hour or two.

There's a cafe/restaurant on site and gift shop for browsing around filled with lovely poppy themed goods.
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Somewhere that I was keen to visit - and staying a few nights in nearby Leicestershire, I couldn't resist the opportunity to call in. Spent some 3 hours walking the grounds - may have stayed longer had it not started to rain.
Was able to see the memorial to the Somerset Light Infantry, in which my late father served during World War 11.
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Unfortunately our poignant visit was somewhat spoiled by rude and pushy staff. My husband and I were insulted at the entrance by the elderly tour operator who said we may be considered "stuck up", when we simply said we didn't need a train tour!
The Memorial itself is an extensive, thoughtful and appropriate tribute. However there is a pushy sales approach and negative attitude from some, although not all, the staff.
Obviously I am aware the National Memorial Arboretum is reliant on charitable donations. However, what should be a calm and respectful atmosphere is at risk of becoming a commercialised theme park, with staff who have no regard for customer service.
As an earlier reviewer say, do visit but take your wallet!
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The new building is fantastic. The new shop is spacious and well stocked with plenty of interesting ideas. There is now plenty of space to eat and the food is great. Outdoors, it's good to see lots of new memorials. The Armed Forces memorial wall is very moving. Parking is £3, bikes, motorbikes and coaches free.
tripadvisor.co.uk
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What an amazing place, so much to see, very humbling. Peaceful gorgeous grounds full of history and rememberence. Highly recommend a visit.
tripadvisor.co.uk
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
A lovely place to visit. The site is very well maintained and improvements are always been carried out.
Definitely worth a visit to provoke thoughts and gratitude of all the hero's who have died trying to protect us.
tripadvisor.co.uk
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A thought provoking, most interesting visit in beautifully landscaped grounds. one day is not enough.
tripadvisor.co.uk
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The Arboretum has always been in out list if places to visit. On the day we went it was not to busy so we were able to walk around and view the Arboretum without feeling rushed.
The staff of which the majority are volunteers are friendly and helpful and will assist you with any request.
The Arboretum is impressive and humbling as it brings home to you as a person the cost of human life in conflicts since WW2.

It is a place that everyone should visit once.
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A place of peace and interest, the layout can be covered by sitting in the train and receiving a very interesting commentary from the driver, they will answer questions too. Felt very close to family who are no longer with us
tripadvisor.co.uk
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Beautiful, calming and evolving . The aboretum is a lovely place. Every time we go it changes and strikes a chord.
tripadvisor.co.uk
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
A most enjoyable day out for any age. Loads to do and see. If you know anyone in the forces or just want to learn more this is the place to come. Food wise you can have a full meal or just a cup of tea and a cake or even take along your own picnic.
tripadvisor.co.uk
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As a family we love the Arboretum , my father likes to pay his respects to his army bodies named on the armed forces memorial .The grounds are beautiful and vast , there are so many memorials to visit ,all are touching and diverse in their design .Good for all the family and as a bonus the cafe is good !
tripadvisor.co.uk
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A wonderful day's visit. Plenty of interesting things to do and see with every effort made for those who are perhaps unable to walk the considerable distance round the whole site. We took the visitors train which helped us to decide where to walk to later in the day.
The memorials were inspirational and the separate building and exhibition for the War in the Far East was excellent. I was able to trace a relative from the records here which I was delighted with. The Chapel was worth a visit as was the restaurant!
tripadvisor.co.uk
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Visit here regularly.. Its beautiful in all seasons. Paths are regular and disabled access is good.. centre has motorised buggies to enable you to get everywhere. Land train also accommodates wheelchairs and carries blankets. Beautiful stillbirth and neonatal death (SANDS) memorial and children's wood emotive. Have a children's trail as well as an adult guidebook... also great place to walk along the river and meander amongst the woodland. Cafe good... best cheese scones on the planet... and disabled toilet facilities good too. Well worth a visit for children to ensure that we don't forget..
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Recently visited with friends. Their first time, our 10th - always inspires.

It is 9 years since we first visited the Memorial and it is great to see how the Memorial continues to be developed.

Each time we visit with a different group of friends and see/learn something new.

This time we wanted to also visit the Korean War and Asian conflict areas.

We will continue to visit as it is very impressive, inspires and always gets us thinking and thanking.
tripadvisor.co.uk
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What an amazing place. We had no idea of the variety of memorials positioned in the Arboretum. We found all the staff to be extremely helpful - in particular Paul, who presented the introduction to the Act of Remembrance, and Gary, who did our guided walk. Both were extremely knowledgeable. We had Gary to ourselves and he tailored the walk-round to our particular interests. We found his knowledge and presentation to be first class. Following the guided walk, we revisited several of the memorials on our own.

We spent 5 hours at the Arboretum, having breaks for both coffee and lunch. Although the weather was not the best; foggy and cold, the grounds were beautifully maintained and even in winter, it looked amazing. Well done to all the gardeners (we were told that there are only 5 full-time staff) and their volunteer helpers.

There is so much see that we will need to return to see the Arboretum and memorials again. We feel that this is a place to visit at various times of the year to give you the opportunity to see the trees and plants in a different time of the year.

One comment would be that the signage directing you to the Arboretum was not seen until we were very close, however the authorities are working on upgrading the Brown Signage.
tripadvisor.co.uk
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first ever visit to this amazing place, I was totally taken aback by the size of the whole area, such fantastic memorials and all the staff were absolutely brilliant and extremely knowledgeable which added to the experience.
tripadvisor.co.uk
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
A lovely modern facility with acres of space & walks. A fitting tribute to heroes of war & those that fought for us & in the name of freedom & peace. Beautiful landscaped gardens & well kept. Not great for young children with little to do, there is a small park for them. Worth a visit to reflect on some history & show respects
tripadvisor.co.uk
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
We visited on New Year's Day as this was one a very few places open. With 2 buggies, the majority of the main paths are all tarmaced and easy to use. The central memorial with the names from 1948 was very moving and the volunteer who pointed out the Falklands conflict fallen also directed us to the main Falklands memorial. The whole place makes you think a bit more about the nature of war and its impact on people. Thank You
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