RAF Air Defence Radar Museum — Attraction in North Norfolk

This is a highly impressive museum dedicated to Air Defence Radar situated on the edge of The Norfolk Broads. The museum is made up of buildings that formed part of RAF Neatishead, which is closed roughly around 2004 but the exhibitions are truly exceptional and like maze you get lost with the excellent exhibits on show. There are exhibitions about the history of RAF Neatishead, How Radar was invented and the Science of Radar generally and in relation to it, The Second World War and how Radar was used during this period. The other exhibitions include RAF Coltishall a former RAF airbase which was nearby and the work the staff did there, The Cold War Rooms where you can see a full intact Radar Operations Room and again learn about how Radar was used during this period. The other exhibitions of note are around how the place prepared for a Nuclear attack and also Telecommunications where you learn about communications came into the base and how it ran from an operational perspective. All the exhibitions are extremely informative and very interesting and intriguing turning what some people might think is uninteresting Subject into very intriguing and riveting and also detail how pivotal Radar was to the war effort in both Second World War and the Cold War and how it helped the allies achieve the outcomes it did and the place succeeds very well in delivering and telling that story. All the exhibitions are very well laid out and also very well presented keeping people captivated and riveted about the subject of Radar. The best exhibition is the Cold War Operations Room due to the great presentation of it and also it is the only example left of a Cold War Operations Room complete with Radar equipment in the UK with all the original parts still intact helping people a full and clear idea of how the place was run during the Cold War and the original parts are hugely impressive. The museum is run by volunteers who are extremely helpful, friendly and welcoming providing a map of the layout of the site showing where all the exhibitions are and the volunteers delivering some informative and interesting talks throughout the day about different subjects relating to the museum and its features. The talks in particular from the volunteers are very informative and captivating and full of interesting facts that will keep people intrigued and interested. There is a cafe on site with some refreshments at affordable prices and also there is a gift with a nice range of souvenirs at reasonable prices. Overall this is a riveting and enjoyable day out to learn about a very interesting subject and would recommend this place to anyone who loves the history of the Cold War and the Second World War. Definitely will visit again...

We found this place by chance on a recent visit to Norfolk when looking for somewhere to visit out of the rain after our plans changed due to the weather, and we are so glad!!

One of the most interesting little military museums we have ever visited. We arrived just in time to hear the Coldwar talk in the radar room and it was super interesting. The two guys conducting the talk were brilliant, engaging and happy to answer questions from inquisitive minds!

Our teenage son is a huge fan of military history and absolutely loved visiting and chatting with the veterans doing the talk and exploring all the rooms full of interesting displays. The place is like a tardis and far bigger than it appears from the outside. Each room is filled with interesting displays of information, models, artefacts ect as well as some rooms still set up with equipment from when it was a working radar base.

Admission was really reasonable and if you're local enough to take advantage of it your ticket is valid for a whole year. Plenty of parking at the front of the building, there is an outdoor play area too plus a few outdoor exhibits of larger decommissioned equipment.

There is a cafe too which we didn't get chance to tey due to us as arriving later in the day but it seemed decent.

Possibly our favourite place visited in Norfolk! Highly recommended and we will definitely visit again next time we are in Norfolk. Definitely worth a visit if you are...

Covering the RAF's defence of the UK via its chain of radar stations, this formerly active section of RAF Neatishead covers everything from the initial experiments to the cold war where this set of buildings took an active role in monitoring events for NATO. Run by volunteers, many of whom worked on the base, everything is hands-on, with models and real equipment from all eras giving visitors a chance to see how radar works and what was done from detection to interception. There's also cockpits from a Tornado and Jaguar, which will excite anyone aircraft-obsessed. Spread across several rooms, some of which can only be accessed by stairs, the museum needs around a half-day, with longer required for those who want to know everything. Luckily there's a good café run by the volunteers, giving you a chance to eat and recharge while you discuss what you've seen. Very enjoyable, and definitely should find a way to bottle the volunteer knowledge to aid with delivery of a complicated but vital part of the...