We live in north Staffordshire, but have never taken the time to visit the arboretum, despite having family members who served in the military, and having been a cadet instructor for a considerable time.
Whilst staying at the caravan and camping club at Conkers we decided, or should I say I decided, and dragged the wife along for a visit.
Parking is a three pound donation, and whilst entry to the site is free, they do suggest a further donation of £5 per visitor. When you see the size of the site, and also think of the sacrifice of those represented there I think that is most reasonable.
There is a land train if you struggle to get round the vast site, but if you can walk and soak up the numerous memorials, set in lovely surroundings with loads of wildlife, which included Oyster Catchers, Jays, Goldfinch, Heron and much more.
The staff couldn't be more helpful including a gentlemen the who was working in the Special Forces gardens. He took time to identify plants to us, chat and explain about the sculpture in honour of the troops who took part in the landing and securing of Pegasus bridge during World War 2. The funds have yet to raised fir the full scale sculpture.
It was clear he found solace in the garden and showed great passion for the design and development of his garden, and the personal touches he applied to it, which included the placement of reeds around a bench shaped like a canoe in memory of the Cockleshell Heroes. This made the canoe appear as though it was within a river bank.
It is clear this passion is carried through all the gardens and memorials.
You don't have to be a military history enthusiast, or have a reason to visit, just come and absorb the day, and the great setting. Even the wife agreed in the end.
Food was reasonably priced with two cafeteria for drinks, snacks or a full meal.
The main memorial was out of commission due to building work, but I think a revisit will be on the cards.

A lovely quiet, peaceful place.

The grounds are very well kept and they are extending the visitor centre at the moment which is looking very impressive.

There is also a restaurant where we had a lovely meal but you can also have snacks. Would recommend the roast dinner.

Spent a whole day here and still did not see everything. Going to do a return visit next year. Staff helpful and informative. Would really like to bring the grandchildren.

Some facts.

Centrally located. Car park is £3. It is free to go in BUT a voluntary donation of £5 is generally the norm.

The site covers over 150 acres so be prepared for a long day ! . There is a small passenger train to get about the site at £5.

There are eating facilities etc. These are being updated and a new visitors centre will open in Oct/Nov. The Armed Forces memorial is currently under maintenance and will reopen in Oct/Nov.

So the Arboretum. This is a beautifully maintained site that has over 300 memorials dotted about the 150 acres. The big brown bear was the first. I loved the Royal Navy with its bright "sails". The Burma Railway exhibition is very harrowing but a must see. You can view the Twin Towers memorial, The RAF is striking.

There is not enough room here to describe everything. This is a visit that provokes many thoughts, reactions, and the wretched evils of war.

Do go and Remember Them , you will not be disappointed.

I think everyone should visit the National Memorial Arboretum. It is a beautiful, thought provoking place. A huge amount of thought has gone into the design of each of the memorial areas. For example, in the area devoted to the limbless, all the fruit trees have been selected so that they will produce blossom and fruit within easy reach so that those using wheelchairs etc can smell the blossom and sample the produce. The site is huge and it is worth taking the land train to get your bearings and listen to the commentary. A very moving experience. We shall no doubt visit again to see how the site has developed as the tree and shrubs grow towards maturity.

So glad our friends took us here whilst we were visiting them. It's a beautiful way of commemorating our forces. Such care has been taken in lay out and is maintained to an excellent standard by extremely hardworking volunteers. A must to visit for all ages.

This is a really lovely place. Its so well mantained . the memorials are beautiful from all different country's. Went on the little train and was told what the memorials were. Then we walked round. I like the RAF one and the big brown bear one. Really interesting place and no charge to go in but donations welcome .

We visited the Arboretum to search for a plaque/bench for our fathers RAF 75 New Zealand Squadron and was amazed at just how many and varied the memorials are. Unfortunately the main, large, Armed Forces Memorial is undergoing some alterations until November 2016, so we couldn't walk round that one but there are plenty of other things to see. All the staff were very knowledgeable & helpful and located the plaque we wanted to see. The land train (£5 per adult for 50 min tour) is a great way to travel around the site but if you get off you can't re-board. We found the land train useful as it prompted us to walk to other memorials relevant to our father-in-laws. There are memorials/gardens/plaques/benches to the RNLI, the Railway, the Police force, Boys Brigade, St Johns Ambulance, Still born & Neonatal memorial to name but a few. There really is something for everyone. We attended the Daily Act of Remembrance held at 11am in the chapel and a free 'Family Tree' talk, that happen to be on the day we visited! You need to wear comfy shoes as there is a lot of walking - guided walking tours run a couple of times a day or you can have a 40min guided tour in a buggy for £5. As we live quite a long way away from the Arboretum we wanted to make the most of our day, so we spent about 6 hours in the grounds but could have stayed longer!

Use the land train to get your bearings before walking to your chosen places. Very helpful volunteers on hand to help with any questions.
Only negative- not many places to shelter if the rain comes. Need a big umbrella.

We have visited a few times now , whether you have lost a dear one or not, it is a very emotional place ,the grounds are looked after with great care , the monuments, and we still haven't visited all of them yet, are pieces of art in them selves, just to see the names on the wall makes you appreciate the sacrifice people have given to let us live as we do,
A must place to visit , but be prepared to be emotionally moved as you walk round

Constantly being expanded and improved, the NMA is a place everyone should visit.
There are fantastic walks amongst the trees and memorials, with a real feeling of purpose and dignity and the new visitors centre due to open this year will offer even more experiences.
There are a selection of eateries on site with a range of good quality foods and refreshments. Help is always available from uniformed volunteers and a weatherproof roadtrain is available to take visitors on a circuit of the site.
The catering staff are extremely helpful and friendly and I would recommend a visit.

Have visited several times. If friends come to visit us we take them and it is always a successful visit, then they bring other friends.

Work in Progress were invited to the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) on 19th April 2016 to see how accessible the place is for young people and children. Here are a few points on what we really enjoyed and what we thought would be great for improving.

· It was a hugely enjoyable experience

· We learnt lots from the short amount of time we spent there and found the atmosphere to be perfect for reflection

· Plenty of opportunities to get some beautiful pictures, which is a photographer's dream

· We discovered the impact and realities of war. It was interesting to discover the sacrifices people made through the memorials that were dedicated to them. It was beautiful to see the detail in each memorial as they considered the factors that made each war/event unique and turned it into art

· There was something truly spiritual about the memorials which makes the NMA a place that promotes respect and empathy. It also allowed us the freedom to roam and explore its features in more detail

· One of the things that we would add to make the NMA more enticing to young audiences would be to include elements of activity and discovery challenges. This would help them to engage in the world's history from a fun and practical side

· It's a very beautiful place, filled with unique and interesting history

· Open and free to explore

· Very welcome and informative staff

· Great food, but it would have been better if there was an option for Halal food

· Reasonable price in shop and cafe

· Reasonable suggested donation

· We were fortunate enough to attend on a beautiful day, but because almost everything is outdoors it would be great to have a space for visitors to go if it starts to rain or get cold

Every single member of the team enjoyed their time at the NMA and would like to thank every NMA member of staff who made it a very memorable and pleasant day. Definitely a great place to visit either as an individual, with a family group or a group of friends – there is something for everyone.

Lovely place to visit, great day out for the family and the children especially really enjoyed themselves. Will definitely be returning here again soon. (Children are 2, 4 and 6 years old)

This is a very emotive place to visit and it really makes you think about the sacrifice that people have made over the years to protect or freedom & rights. It is beautifully tended and you can see the respect given in memory of those who have given their lives for us.

One has to remember this is a place of remembrance so appeals to a limited group. Not really for children or family fun day out.
The time of year made it quiet and having been before in summer, that is far better, unfortunately in April there was a cold wind, it was wet but there is no shelter.
Unfortunate that we visited when the main areas were also closed for maintenance.
That said, it was a place for reflection. Maybe just me but I thought they might have a prayer room or similar.
I have been tho the arboretum before but as it grows it seems to be loosing something. It used to be small and personal but it seems to be trying to be all things to all people but losing something on the way.

Wonderful place and a lot larger than we expected. We choose a sunny day to go which made it lovely as it is all outside. Moving place

I had been threatening to take my wife to visit the arboretum for a while and as she's coming to the end of a photography course it seemed like a good time to visit and kill two birds with one stone.
I first visited the site about 5 or 6 years ago and it's good to see more memorials have been built and the trees are growing nicely and its developing into a location to be proud of.
The cafe had a good range of snacks and meals on offer at a reasonable price (for this kind of place) and the shop had plenty of bits and pieces on sale for young and old.

My main gripe is the armed forces memorial is currently undergoing renovation so is closed of to the public and covered in scaffolding etc so can't even be photographed (one of the main reasons for the visit) I've double checked the website since I got home and can't see any mention of the work or the memorial being closed which is a shame as I'm sure a lot of people visit the arboretum to see the memorial.
My only other gripe is the site doesn't provide any free mapping or guides....everything costs. While this isn't a massive problem as you can wonder round and you will see the majority of the memorials eventually it would be nice to have some kind of free guide even if it's only a few notice board style map boards dotted around the site. I realise the main driver behind this is making money as it seems a lot of things are here.

We will certainly be visiting again once the armed forces memorial is open again and the new remembrance centre is completed and open.

It is the 2nd visit both times amazing this time we hired a buggy personal guide and lunch for a very reasonable price. Would do this again and visit again as they are always updating the area. Besides not enough time in one day to see it all. Thank you to all staff who made us very welcome and putting up with us. Well worth visit . Food out standing too.

This is a wonderful memorial to both forces and civilians. The land train transports you around the sight and there is a commentary on the 300+ memorials, an ideal way to see it if the weather is bad. An excellent hot meal in the Lunch Pavilion completed a lovely visit.

This is an excellent choice for a day trip. Superb staff ( volunteers mainly) and a whole range of memorials. We did not have time to visit the whole site as wea were on an organised trip. The daily memorial service took place in the beautiful chapel. This was followed by a most interesting talk. The land train has a good commentary and gives an insight into the various different memorials around the site.

They have lots of memorials, military and civilian in a beautiful setting, including memorial for organ donors and stillbirths. The memorials are all very different and beautiful in their own way. Nice place to eat. Would highly recommend a visit.

I visited today and even in the freezing cold the place was beautiful. It's moving, educational and peaceful. Maybe not the best place for young teenagers, the group of teens I visited with did their best to be respectful but they didn't fully understand the gravity of the situation.
I'll revisit on my own so that I can take things in properly.

This site is appropriate not only for ex service personnel but also those interested in learning more about all services
Highly recommend the guided tour on the buggy

My wife and I visited with a number of colleagues and friends. This place is impressive from the start. We were fully aware that the main memorial was being repaired so this did not surprise us. The main parking is about 100m from the site itself and not a difficult walk. There is parking closer but this is, rightly, reserved for those who need it. Parking is a modest £3 and is generally collected at the gate. The visitors centre and main catering are under development and will make the location even better but I will touch on this later.
Upon arriving we had a coffee and then moved into the chapel. Access to the site, less parking, is entirely free. There is no one bothering you to make a donation but there signs and the ability to donate at the entry/exit point. A suggested donation is stated but there is no enforcement of this and it is purely a voluntary donation.
The first coffee area is small at the current time and quickly becomes full, this will be rectified once the development has been completed.
We proceed to the chapel for the daily Act of Remembrance. I advise getting there early as there is only a limited number of seats and this may result in you having to stand. The 15 minute introduction to the NMA given by the Volunteer guide is very informative and a good start to your day.
We then proceeded to the specific memorial we had come to see and moving around the NMA is very easy for all, with good level foot paths and grass ways. The layout is relatively easy and once you get the hang of it finding what your looking for can be relatively easy. You can purchase a map to find your way around.
The setting cannot be faulted in any way. With the different trees and their meanings, the plethora of memorials also reflecting well their different subjects. The positioning of the NMA next to a nature reserve and using the setting it has makes it a very tranquil and pleasant place to be as a whole. The river running close by also adds to this.
The site is massive though and do not think you are going to get around the site in just one day and visit all the memorials personally. you would not being do the site the justice it deserves. One easy way to see a very good overview of the site is to utilise the land train. This costs £5 per person but is well worth as you are on it for around an hour and it takes you over the entire sight and gives you a very good idea of the layout of the site and very good information track on how the different memorials have been devised. The land train is enclosed so will protect from the worst of the weather also! it happen to have started raining during our visit and the using the land train at this time was the perfect opportunity.
We decided to have lunch there and this is the only negative thing I have to say about the visit. The co-ordination of the staff within this area seemed to be severely lacking. There was an organised visit on one side of the lunch facility and the remainder of everyone came through on the other side. Hot food was constantly running out and coming backwards and forwards from each location along with staff resulting in no constant thoroughfare and motion of the queue. There were vegetarians in our party also who had to wait for nut cutlet (despite it being on the menu as a standard) and it took an excessive amount of time (15-20mins) for this to arrive and then it was not the hottest either despite it being freshly cooked. The food itself was nothing really to right home about (apart from the temperature of the nut cutlet) but was not terrible either. I think for future visits I will bring a picnic as the site opens itself up to this perfectly. I understand that such places get busy but it was not that busy. I am sure the new development will rectify this though.
We then proceeded to visit some of the larger memorials that we wished to see closer after the land train trip. You can freely wander from memorial to memorial. There was no over crowding and people respectfully wait as you take photos as you wish. There is a temporary wall that has all the names on it from the currently closed memorial located at the entrance to the NMA.
A truly special place that I intend to visit many more times. The setting, layout and volunteers make this place truly a location designed for reflection and tranquillity.