Went on the land train all around the Arboretum and then wandered around taking in all the wonderful sculptures and memorials. It is a lovely peaceful place and I found my late fathers regiments garden and then in the POW exhibition I discovered my uncles name listed as one of the men who died in a Japanese POW camp. It was a very special day for me and thought the Shot at Dawn memorial was incredible and very thought provoking.

Every visit shows improvements with even more memorials.The trees are now starting to flourish and spread.The main building is undergoing extensive refurbishment which will enhance the experience.

Have just visited this fantastic place . Thought we would be there for about an hour, 4 hours later we left and still had not seen everything. I know it is a memorial park but it is not a morbid place.

This is a truly beautiful place to remember and reflect on all those fallen. The train is an excellent way to see all the different memorials and to learn about them. We had coffee and cake in the cafe and it was delicious.

A wonderful place.

Such a lovely place. Perfect memorial nice and relaxed.close to the a38 but not close enough that noise disrupts the peaceful surroundings.

A truly moving experience. Was busy when we went but going around it felt as though we were in a church really wonderful. Would recommend it to anyone. After being recently to Pearl Harbour the Arboretum is so much more.

During a fortnight in the Peak District, we visited the National Memorial Arboretum and were impressed by the size and extent of the grounds, and the number of memorials.

The magnitude of everything is impressive, whilst also being presented in a very respectful manner, given who are being remembered, and the reasons for doing so.

We visited with our chocolate labrador, and four legged friends are catered for with their own walk and a number of "hitching posts" where they can be safely attached while their human owners visit individual memorials.

As there is a café on-site, it is very easy to spend a full day for a visit, which is what we did, before being almost the last to leave.

We spent four hours touring the site on our third visit over a number of years. New memorials appear regularly and they now have a land train that takes you around the site with a commentary explaining some of the memorials you can see. Entrance is free but there is a request for donations to keep the site running. A beautiful site dedicated mainly to military remembrance but also has many other memorials which are peaceful and thought provoking. The cafe serves basic coffee but lovely cakes and is well worth a visit.

Although we have no close relatives that have been killed in action, we do have close family links to WW1 and WW2. We visited here on a nice summer day and enjoyed the experience. Although a memorial to those that have given all, it is very much a place to be enjoyed, as well as to be deeply moved at times. It is hard to move among the wooden posts, one for each of those shot at dawn, without feeling pain and loss yourself. This is but one of many, many memorials in this vaste arboretum. A forest, where each tree is a convoy ship lost. Real track from the Burma Railway. It makes our daily troubles seem very small. It really brings home what was given for our today. On a practical note - good signage and parking. Good catering - use the meal service in the Pavilion - much better than the cafe at the entrance. Very helpful voluntary guides. Get there for the 11am 2 minute silence ceremony in the chapel if you can. It is well worth reading up on everything on the website before you go. The £6.50 guide book is a very good buy. Allow most of the day to get the best out of your visit.

We were lucky enough to have a guided tour, as our host had been a trustee of the arboretum. It is beautifully maintained and the memorial on the mound is extremely moving. Some of the statuary is amazing.

We started our visit with a 30 minute presentation by a guide who explained the history and layout of the site. We then got on the visitor train to have a guided trip around the site with each memorial being introduced and described. At various locations you could get off the tour train to have a look round and then get on the next train when it arrived. After the conducted tour we went to the restaurant area where we had an afternoon cream tea, which was excellent quality and value.

We were there for half a day, we will be going back for a further visit as there is so much to see.

Four of us planned a visit and decided to opt for the VIP guided tour. If you just want to visit and wander around on your own it's free but you would miss so many interesting things. It's spread over 150 acres of beautiful countryside and goes down to the river.
There were alterations to the site and entrance sinage was a little lacking but there were volunteers everywhere to guide us.
The cafe serves excellent, reasonably priced food and the gift shop has a beautiful selection of gifts, not shoddy tat.
Our tour involved us being guided around on a golf buggy which allowed us to cover the whole site in a day with a brilliant commentary from our guide Richard, who was extremely knowledgable and managed to incorporate facts with anecdotes. It also included lunch.
Altogether a good day out in a lovely environment with amazingly friendly, funny, lovely volunteer helpers.

The most wonderful place...for everyone young or old.
A truly magnificent place to visit it takes your brwath away.

Must be one of the nations best kept secrets, I was very very surprised when we arrived. But all my worry's soon disappeared when I found my dads name in far East prisoners of war memorial. Then we had a buggy ride round. Mr Neil whyte made our ride very interesting thank you. What the human race can do to each other. Not the most happy visit but very interesting.

Far east hut was interesting and grounds are fairly extensive. If you live within an hours drive it is worth a visit. Bikes have to be locked out outside if you cycle there. Parking is about £3.

My wife and I visited on Monday and Tuesday of this week. It is a quite overwelming and humbling experience. It is with great pride that we walked around the various monuments. It is very difficult to pick out and outstanding monument although the "Shot at Dawn" caused great sadness especially when you saw the age of the victims. Also to the FEPOW area isn't to be missed. As General Macarthur said We will Return

We had the pleasure of a second visit, on our first I had not allowed sufficient time to get all the way around, please don't make this mistake.
The car park has been moved because at the time of our visit there were extensive building works going on at the Visitors Reception but the staff coped well in what I assume are temporary buildings, good quality food and beverages were still available.
The grounds are immaculately kept as are the memorials and are a credit to the grounds staff.
This is a must visit once in your life.

From the memorial to those killed since the end of WW2 to the "Shot at Dawn" monument and the nearby Polish memorial, this site displays all that is best about being British, from patriotism to tolerance, and not giving in to unreasonable force. The groups of ex-servicemen involved in both formal and informal acts of remembrance were really moving, and the effect of the whole place is to allow for reflection and remembrance. A wonderful place.

We spent about four hours exploring the arboretum and had it not been one of the hottest days of August would probably have spent another couple of hours. As it was I doubt we covered a third of the monuments.

For us, the most moving was the main 'centre piece' Armed Forces Memorial - beautiful and very moving.We were stunned by the numbers of service men and women killed since the Second World War.

All the memorials deserve a visit. However we would also particularly recommend the 'shot at dawn' one (why no officers? Were they said to be 'ill' and other ranks 'cowards'?) and the Polish War Memorial. Others on our list for a future visit are the Far East memorials and the Merchant Sailors.

I very much hope that schools are regular visitors - to reflect on the sacrifice and human cost of conflict.

I should also mention how impressed we were with the friendliness of the very helpful staff and volunteers.

We will return to explore further.

as with anyone ex military,this is a place of utmost importance, it is beautifully laid out, well tended and a credit to the contributors and staff,
the memorials to all arms of the services and civilian organisations are excellent tributes. it will take more than a day to see and appreciated the time and effort of all involved.
well worth the the time taken to viit such a place

It's difficult to put into words what the Arboretum is like. It is a silent place, with many areas to sit or stand and think. We visited to walk our dogs around the perimeter - there are many posts dotted around for tying dog leashes to, so you are free to explore a memorial. I would definitely like to pay a visit alone to spend more time there.
While noting there is a fee for the attraction, it is in the form of a donation.
I would highly recommend a visit, either now or after the expansion.

I took a party of 10 people to the arboretum and they was not disappointed. The welcome and food on offer was very good. It was a delight to see so many tributes paid to all services. The train was well populated and it was lovely to be able to spend quality with those who gave their lives for the cause. I shall come back again and the entrance will be finished. Well done to all.

My husband dropped me off here on his way to a classic motoring event. Although it may seem strange, I was glad to be on my own as I wanted to experience the peace of the place and be alone with my thoughts. It is free to enter but a map is pretty much essential and costs three pounds which is fair I think. They suggest a donation of five pounds per visitor but there is no one breathing down your neck to pay it like at some venues. However, it is definitely worth the cost and all proceeds go towards financing the project. The site is beautifully landscaped. As well as the large memorials there are lots of small personal memorial plaques attached to trees or benches donated in memory of individuals and these were also very moving. The Armed Forces Memorial is stunningly beautiful as is befitting. In addition to the memorials, there is a beautiful riverside walk with information about the wildlife which can be seen there. I saw a stoat run across the path and had a really good close up view of a goldcrest in a yew tree near the 'Shot at Dawn memorial. There were quite a few young people exploring the site while I was there and they were all behaving so respectfully, as were the young children visiting with their parents. The mums and dads were explaining the significance of the memorials and that has got to be a good thing. I probably walked about 3 miles in a bid to visit all the memorials I wanted to see but still didn't manage to see everything I wanted to. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes and preferably not sandals. Many of the paths are gravel or wood chippings and I had to keep emptying my shoes! It's also a good idea to take snacks and a drink with you eg a flask, as the site is very large and refreshments are only available at the visitor centre which can be a very long way away when you are ready for a cuppa. There were plenty of beautiful and peaceful places to sit and rest. The staff volunteers are very knowledgeable and helpful. I was slightly worried when I only saw one lot of toilets on the map but there were portable loos dotted about which were also disabled friendly. If you do visit I hope you get as much out of it as I did.

This is a very special place indeed. We visited to see two specific memorials and it was very easy to find what we were looking for. If we had had more time we would have taken the road train around the whole site. The staff and volunteers are all friendly and helpful; the cafe well organised and good value. The centre-piece - the Armed Forces Memorial - is stunning. A wonderful place to spend time in quiet reflection.

We regularly visit when in the area and there is so much to see. So much so, that we have not been able to see every area. In fact, we did not realise just how large an area it covered until we took a guided tour on one of those motorised "trains".
A walk through the Japanese camp is very sobering and worth at least more than one hour of your time.
It is free to enter although there is a small car park charge.
We look forward to our next visit.