National Memorial Arboretum
Latest Reviews
I have been to hundreds of war commemoration sites in Britain and Europe and this far exceeded my expectations. The highlight for me was the Changi lychgate, built as an entrance to the cemetery at the Japanese PoW camp and brought to England in the 1970s. To be able to stand inside it made me feel closer to the men who had built and used it in such horrific circumstances.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
You must visit, it is so incredible.........I actually felt something very powerful! I just have no words to explain.....
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Having read some of the review - terrible, poor - I wonder if I was at the same place. Apart from parking £3 (who begrudges that) you do not have to spend any money, you can walk round at your leisure. A lot of families were sitting outside with their lunches and dogs.
We did the buggy tour not the train. It was brilliant as we saw the areas we asked for with our super knowledgeable driver - worth every penny of the £5. We had the lunch and although expensive it was excellent and the staff could not have been more helpful either in the restaurant or anywhere on the site.
You really do have to ask what people expect or why they went? The area is large - it needs to be and it is not just a memorial to our armed services but to many other aspects of our life including children who did not experience life.
Someone with a review who went this year said there are no trees..there are HUNDREDS of trees and in June/July the poppies will be blowing in the breeze.
Go for the right reason and enjoy, wear sensible shoes as there is a lot of walking if you want the true experience.
We did the buggy tour not the train. It was brilliant as we saw the areas we asked for with our super knowledgeable driver - worth every penny of the £5. We had the lunch and although expensive it was excellent and the staff could not have been more helpful either in the restaurant or anywhere on the site.
You really do have to ask what people expect or why they went? The area is large - it needs to be and it is not just a memorial to our armed services but to many other aspects of our life including children who did not experience life.
Someone with a review who went this year said there are no trees..there are HUNDREDS of trees and in June/July the poppies will be blowing in the breeze.
Go for the right reason and enjoy, wear sensible shoes as there is a lot of walking if you want the true experience.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Visited here today for the first time. It was lovely. Staff were very helpful and friendly. It's quite a big place so to see it all will take a few hours. Easy access for buggy's and wheelchair users. There's a land train that goes round the arboretum if u don't fancy walking around from one end to the other. They also do tours. So a good history lesson for the little ones
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
I had been told that I must visit the National Memorial Arboretum for a long time, but never got round to going.
Sometimes it's just because a place is close by, and you ignore it for this reason.
Anyway we have now been. I'm not really sure what I expected, this was not it.
So many memorials to so many groups. Wrens, Sailors, Airmen and Soldiers. Civilians. Men and women. From all over the country and the world.
Peaceful and calm. I now wish we had planned to be there for longer.
We are planning to go again next weekend for the VE day event.
We worth a visit.
Sometimes it's just because a place is close by, and you ignore it for this reason.
Anyway we have now been. I'm not really sure what I expected, this was not it.
So many memorials to so many groups. Wrens, Sailors, Airmen and Soldiers. Civilians. Men and women. From all over the country and the world.
Peaceful and calm. I now wish we had planned to be there for longer.
We are planning to go again next weekend for the VE day event.
We worth a visit.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Emotional and moving- difficult to take it all in- a sobering experience. The wind was blowing but on a warm day I'd have wanted to stay much longer
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
We visited the Arboretum on a beautiful, sunny but very cold day. It was a very sobering but interesting experience. The Arboretum is beautifully laid out and in a few years with more mature trees will look quite wonderful. We loved the thought and sometimes the humour that had gone into some of the memorials. Having visited Poland a few times over the years we especially liked it's memorial which was beautiful and very informative. The Gallipoli memorial was especially moving as we visited a few days after the 100 years anniversary. The only disapointment was that we couldn't find the REME Memorial (my father's regiment) but Googled later to find it was being repaired.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Does this come across as an attraction.
It is the most amazing poignant place I have ever visited,the staff were really helpful,polite,Nothing was too much trouble.Everybody should go and reflect on what it stands for
RECOMMEND IT AMAZING POIGNANT
It is the most amazing poignant place I have ever visited,the staff were really helpful,polite,Nothing was too much trouble.Everybody should go and reflect on what it stands for
RECOMMEND IT AMAZING POIGNANT
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
As a family we visit annually. A nice dry day is best , it does get busy but there are acres of grounds to wander in a look at the many memorials.
It is the calmness and the quietness that gets me every time we visit. There are plenty of benches to sit and have a minute.
I personally think everybody should visit at least once out of respect for our forces.
there are other memorials not just military.There is a visitor centre with a café and toilets and gift shop.
Love this place x
It is the calmness and the quietness that gets me every time we visit. There are plenty of benches to sit and have a minute.
I personally think everybody should visit at least once out of respect for our forces.
there are other memorials not just military.There is a visitor centre with a café and toilets and gift shop.
Love this place x
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
I visited the Arboretum with my wife and found the experience sobering yet uplifting. The staff and arrangements are 100% professional and I left the occasion both thoughtful and grateful to our fallen heroes.......I will be visiting this memorial again.....rest in peace to our gracious fallen......
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
This is a place everyone should visit a place of peace and it is not just military everyone can find something that means something to them
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Try to go on a 'nice' day. If it is wet, windy or cold it is less pleasant. To see everything would take several days. As an 'ordinary' visitor, or one with walking difficulties, the tour by the 'road train' is recommended.
Whatever else, go and have a look at the walls of names at the main memorial.
And the food at the café is good and reasonably priced.
Whatever else, go and have a look at the walls of names at the main memorial.
And the food at the café is good and reasonably priced.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
It would appear that everything within the area has been done with a purpose. The right trees, the correct wood, the interesting labels, stones and plaques. You really need a full day to appreciate the complete area.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
As an ex Guardsman, of course I am interested in military history and the sacrifice of the many who gave their lives for us. The Arboretum is superb, the grounds are kept in immaculate condition and there is a site for just about every regiment and society that was involved in the wars. The site is well laid out with beautiful walks, and if you are not so nimble on your legs there are many other forms of transport to take you around the site. We had lunch in the restaurant on site and was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food and drink. All the staff were helpful and the chapel services were very moving. We will return again to see the remaining parts which we had no more time to visit.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
This place is a must for anyone who has friends or family in the forces. Not only does it provide a superb area for walking (and flat for those less able) but it is also a great place just to sit and pay your respects.
In terms of maturity the area is relatively young but growing all the time with carefully considered trees and shrubs to match the many and varied memorials on show. In three years of visiting the National Memorial Arboretum we have witnessed a huge increase in the number of memorials and development of the area so repeated visits always offer something different.
Particularly recommended are the escorted walks and talks given by the guides and volunteers.
In terms of maturity the area is relatively young but growing all the time with carefully considered trees and shrubs to match the many and varied memorials on show. In three years of visiting the National Memorial Arboretum we have witnessed a huge increase in the number of memorials and development of the area so repeated visits always offer something different.
Particularly recommended are the escorted walks and talks given by the guides and volunteers.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
this place is a must for any old servicemen /women.its a place of stillness yet not sad.lovely walks down by the river and in the trees.i like all the different layouts of the memorials, some small some big, but all of them in good taste.brill place to sit and reflect on the past.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Spent a day at the memorial but could easily have spent a second and still not have visited all the memorials The 11am service was very poignant and put into perspective the reason behind the memorial. Knowledgeable and friendly staff
Good value restaurant that was priced to encourage visitors to use it rather that exploit them
Good value restaurant that was priced to encourage visitors to use it rather that exploit them
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Due to my father being a FEPOW and working on the Burma railway found the FEPOW section of the memorial site particularly interesting. A bit windswept on the day I visited
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
My wife and I visited here with my Dad who like me is ex forces and full of memories of friends, hardship and great times. The Arboretum is amazing. Every stone, tree and monument is so well looked after and reflects those who gave everything so we can live in our proud country without fear or hardship. I recommend the train trip that took about an hour and gave us a foundation to plan our day so my Dad could get to see and do everything we'd planned. So well run and totally brilliant, you simply must go.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
All I can say is Beautiful and to bring home what our armed forces do for us.We spent all day there and it is huge but there is open small carriges to take you around for a small fee .lovely day out.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Have been here on a few occasions with my husband who was in the services, for various memorials. Beautifully kept and a reminder of all the men and women who fought for our country. Lovely to walk around, or you can take the small train which runs around the Arboretum with commentary as you go. They have a good café/restaurant and there are now buses which run to and from the Arboretum into Tamworth, Burton and Lichfield. I was able to leave my husband for a few hours with his comrades, whilst I took a bus to Burton for a couple of hours.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Moving and at times harrowing. very well worth visiting. Many more memorials than I had anticipated.
Good café at very reasonable prices
Good café at very reasonable prices
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
A great place to visit, we have been a few times both as a family and on our own and will be back. Fantastic setting, I could spend the whole day there
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
I visited on 17th April with four children aged from 3 to 11 years. I had seen the activity for children to come and make a felt poppy advertised on Facebook and we joined Jean, a wonderfully patient and instructive volunteer, who taught the children how to do this craft. The children all really enjoyed themselves and were very proud of their poppies. We coloured in cardboard triangles to be used in the bunting which will decorate the NMA on VE70 weekend in May. After I explained what all the tea-lights burning were for, one boy (6y) asked if he could light a candle to remember his great-uncle who died in August 1945; this was a very moving moment for us. We visited the main memorial and I explained how the sunlight shines through the slits in the walls and lights up the wreath at 11am on 11th November every year. I was here last November with different children and we saw this ourselves. We visited a few other memorials and had a picnic by the play area. A thought-provoking day out.
Visited April 2015
Visited April 2015
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
A wonderful site that pays tribute to those members of our Armed Forces who made the ultimate scarfice. There is a lot to see so I would allow a full day to walk around the site. The cafe on site is good and all the staff and volunteers are very helpful. Will be returning for another visit.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
