RAF Air Defence Radar Museum
Museums & Science Centres · Neatishead, Norfolk
No reviews yet
Closed — opens Tuesday at 10am
🏠 Indoor & outdoor☔ Rainy-day friendlyEducational
What’s there
- Café on site
- Parking
- Picnic area
Large car park with Blue Badge parking near the front entrance; can take coaches and minibuses. Charge not stated on the site.
Only facilities we’ve confirmed are listed — anything missing here we simply haven’t checked, rather than know to be absent.
A volunteer-run museum housed in an original Grade II listed 1942 radar operations building on the northern edge of the Norfolk Broads. Visitors move through around twenty exhibition rooms that follow radar from its early days and the Battle of Britain through to the Cold War. The centrepiece is a Cold War Operations Room, where fighter controllers once tracked and directed aircraft, and there are displays on the Royal Observer Corps, missiles and mobile radar vehicles. Scheduled talks in the Second World War room and the Cold War room bring the history to life, and many volunteers served at the station themselves. Older children with an interest in history or aircraft tend to get the most out of it, while younger ones can use the grassed area and small play space in the grounds. A café on site serves lunch and cakes. Allow a full day to see everything, and expect some stairs in parts of the building.
Questions parents ask
- How long should we allow for a visit?
- The museum suggests allowing a whole day to see the entire collection and attend the historical presentations. If you cannot stay that long, annual tickets mean you can return as many times as you wish.
- Is there a café, or should we bring a picnic?
- Crumbs Café offers snacks and drinks. There is also a picnic area if you prefer to bring your own.
- Is the museum manageable with a pushchair and older children?
- The 1942 military building means access to all areas is not always possible for wheelchairs or those with difficulty with stairs. Check the Museum Accessibility page for details on which rooms are accessible.
- Will a rainy day stop us visiting?
- The museum is housed entirely in RAF buildings, so bad weather will not cancel your visit, though some areas may have limited access due to the age and design of the building.
Stuff to take with you
The things people wish they’d packed for a day out like this one.
Refillable water bottleMost places will fill it for free.
Snacks that survive a rucksackCheaper than the café, and buys you twenty minutes.
Wet wipes
Small first aid kitPlasters solve more days out than anything else here.
Sun hat
Colouring book and pencils
Travel pillow
Toilet rollAssume the worst about the facilities and you'll never be wrong.- I-spy book
- Children's paracetamol sachetsThe one thing a farm shop never sells.
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Photos: 維基小霸王, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Renée Kools, CC BY 4.0 · crabchick, CC BY 2.0 · MichaelMaggs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Takahiro Yamagiwa, CC BY 2.0 · Rolf Dietrich Brecher, CC BY-SA 2.0
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