IWM Duxford — Attraction in South Cambridgeshire

Definitely Worth the Trip! Plan an easy 6 hours. Tip: Try to get there at opening, otherwise you are racing through the exhibits.

Pro: Exhibits Parking Restoration

Cons: Seating Price/Ticketing Staff Walking Information Placards

Tip: Small children will probably enjoy the museum as well. Besides the exhibits, there's a playground, and plenty of free space to run around to tire themselves. Also, there's a cantina for lunch and snacks.

The exhibits are incredible! The static displays in two of the hangars (UK and US) were fantastic and well laid out. The restoration hangars were interesting to see as well. The painstaking care they prefabricated and restore these historic pieces is incredible.

I was happy to see ample and free parking for once, while visiting. With enough room to get in and out of your vehicle without worry of being dinged by another vehicle.

As stated, the restorations were fantastic. I enjoyed seeing the process as much as seeing the end product. And to see the ones that were being restored or already in flying condition is a tribute to past and present operators and mechanics that make them air worthy.

There is a lack of seating inside the hangars. In Hangar 1, there were few places to sit on the ground floor, but upstairs there was ample seating. This was a common theme throughout the complex.

The price is fair...unless it takes you more than one day to see everything, and it will. Nothing this, they then suggest you buy a membership for an entire year with unlimited visits. Great if you'rea local; but what if you're only visiting for a short time? Suggestion: Offer a multi-day pass for a couple £'s more. Additionally, their merch is exorbitant. Lower the prices or get an AI program to help set costs. Lot of t-shirts, but no polo shirts.

I'm not sure if because it was a weekday, this was the B Team; but many staff didn't seem to know the time of day even with a watch on. Asked about all the exhibits, and apparently there was one I'd missed, that they were either unaware of or purposefully misled me. Either way, had they a multi-day pass I could've gone back and seen what was missed.

My pedometer stated I walked over four miles and was standing for almost six hours. So plan accordingly. The facility is spread out and encompasses multiple buildings. Again, take note of seating when available and take breaks.

Because many of the aircraft are operational, they are moved around quite a bit. In doing so, their information placards sometimes do not follow the aircraft. Or is missing significant info. For example, the B-17 (my favorite aircraft) on display on the tarmac is painted in the color scheme and nose art of the Memphis Belle. But the actual Memphis Belle is at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio. So was this one used in the movie? Didn't say. And the docent I asked...

This email I sent to the museum will explain about my experience there. Sent today and will wait for reply from them : "I am a tourist from UAE. Since few years I wanted to visit IWM in Duxford to experience how was it inside old aircrafts like the legendary comet, old AVRO ...etc. This summer I finally had the chance to visit yesterday 12 August in very hot day, came from London by train and had to walk from train station to the museum (45 min), reached the ticket counter at 14:41 (shown on the attached ticket). Your staff there instead of saying clearly that the aircraft interior displays will be closed by 15:00, do you want to still visit today or not ?, he just issued the ticket without asking and said, the Concorde will be closed within 20 min, so If I were you, I would visit the Concorde first. So this implied other aircrafts will still be possible to visit after that. So I visited the interior of the Concorde, only to be surprised that all other aircrafts like Comet and AVRO interior sections had been closed as well all at 15:00 with sign at the stairs of the aircrafts say "Sorry, closed for today". I walked back to the same ticket staff, by then it was 15:46 (as shown in the receipt of water I bought then from the gift shop) and told him it was not clear to me that all aircrafts interior sections will be closed because he issued the ticket without asking me and just talked about the Concorde, he didn't admit that and said that he told me all aircrafts will be closed, I didn't want to go into useless argument with him and just walked back 45 min to the train station after an extremely bad experience. This staff really is not upto your standards, he was not very caring about rights of customers to know clearly and decide nor he can admit any mistake, nor he even tried to put some effort to get approval to refund, he just said "sorry no refunds, I can only upgrade the ticket for you to membership if you pay 30 UKP more so you can visit as much as you can in a year !!! he still not understand or didn't care that I am only a tourist to UK and came as guest one day to your museum. Please train your staff better, and show clear signs without any ambiguity in your web site and at the entrance that aircraft interior sections are closed by 15:00 so that customers take decision and plan their trip properly. In my opinion, this is a clear refund case of the 26.8 UKP I paid for ticket, I hope you will take the right action...

In one word? INCREDIBLE!!! I spent the most amazing half day here and could have stayed longer but the best things in life can't last forever. Took a bus after a five minute walk from Whittlesford Parkway Station at Station Road West and was dropped at the entrance of the Airfield six or seven minutes later. The staff at reception were very friendly and seemed genuinely pleased to help usher me in. In fact, none of the staff I met were less than gracious and helpful with each member having a kind, cheery word and informative attitude. The exhibits are in an excellent viewing state and the floorplan is marked out very well allowing for good photos to be accessed from all over. All the walk through exhibitions seemed to be open (I was there on a Tuesday arfternoon) and it was fascinating to compare the jetliners of today with the old workhorses of the past. I recomend a slowish pace as the walking is long owing to how extensive the museum and airfield are, but there are courtesy buses that run every few minutes from one end of the venue to the other. It helps to remember that this was a working military airfield for much of last century and that during WW2 pilots would have had to do a lot of running over this same ground. There are also quite a few restaurant/coffee shops with excellent fare and again wonderful staff. Plenty of seating and pitstops abound to allow worn out old devils like myself to take the weight off for a moment before plunging back in to yet another hangar chock full of history. Toilet facilities are also in abundance and the ones I used were clean and handily located. Unfortunately, I couldn't manage to coincide my visit with one of the many airshow days that are major events in September but I did see massive preparations for the next show happening all over the venue. An amusment park was being set up and marquee tents were flourishing a spectacle of white in readiness for the crowds that are expected. As usual it would be remiss to not mention that as at all Imperial War Museum attractions, many volunteer hours go into making this park work and we should always be grateful for the splendid work done by enthusiastic legends who work as crew. I went back to the hotel tired, happy and with a phone full of photos but the memories of today will last me forever. A really unique...