Bletchley Park Mansion — Attraction in West Bletchley

As soon as I looked at the first exhibit I got that sinking feeling. It seemed to be a completely random display from a random point somewhere in the middle of the story. This feeling of disorganisation persisted and made me feel it wasn't very well curated, there was no start or end point and you were just milling around aimlessly reading very similar things in various rooms with a lot of overlap and a lot of repetition.

Unit 11A felt like the only room they had actually made any kind of effort to explain the incredible work done at this site. Even so, it was somewhat disappointing to find that the machines built here have been moved to the National Museum of Computing. Looking at a dusty old car that was once used in a film of no importance or the site where tennis was once played by no one in particular or a tea room where some people ate lunch once is not really very interesting and this kind of banality constitutes far too much of the experience. Outside of room 11A the rest of the exhibits quickly became tiresome. The AI exhibit at the very end was interesting, but that was about it.

It's worth pointing out that there is also an Enigma museum in Poznan, in honour of the work done there. I think the curators of this place would be wise to visit. That one is £5.87 to enter and looks like it was designed somewhere in the modern era , whereas this one is £28 per person and practically held together by the moths that ate it. I suspect many of the visitors here are of an age where they already know the history and the biographies inside out and are happy to just wander the grounds and enjoy the various tea rooms all afternoon, but personally I was hoping for more of a history lesson and to see things I couldn't see anywhere else.

I genuinely don't understand the 5 star reviews for this place. I have been to some truly outstanding museums this year alone all across Europe, this place charges so much and delivers so little...

We had a wonderful day as a family of 4 including 2 children aged 9&12. It really is a beautiful site and all the staff we encountered were so friendly. We arrived at 12 and managed to book onto a free tour of the site for 1pm which gave us an hour to go through the first part of the tour, watching a very moving video (about 10 mins long) and get our first glance of the enigma machine. We went around the lake and into the mansion before joining Andrew on his tour of the park. I would recommend this to anyone, it was an hour long and it gave us a wealth of knowledge on the whole war time operation. We then explored all the huts and just as importantly the cafe! (I can recommend the sausage roll with caramelised onion and the kids chicken goujons meals looked good- they did try to get out of eating the peas).

It was such an interesting day and the information was displayed in interactive and innovative ways along with written ones so as to keep the visitors interested. I would say I am glad to have waited until now to bring the kids, our 12 year old was very immersed in it but our 9 year old was a little less so. My husband who works in the technology industry throughly enjoyed all the different aspects of the site, machines, computers and radio as well as one of my favourite technology parts the AI section.

We were too late to explore the learning centre unfortunately which I think the kids would have enjoyed, but the good news is that the tickets stay valid for a whole year so we could pop back to do that at some point if we’re around that area. We left just before 5 so we got a good day...

So much history so many unsung heroes and so little time. I was a bit time poor today but really wanted to visit this bastion of WW2 secret war winning legend. I got a taxi to the Park from Milton Keynes Central station with a quick stop at the hotel on the way. Driver agreed to pick me up there 3hours later and I was not disappointed. It is only a short walk from Bletchley station however and not much more from Bletchley Town Centre. This venue is very wheelchair friendly and is packed with information. The staff are incredible and go out of their way to make the visit special. As usual I spent too much in the gift shop but just couldn't resist as the items for sale are very relevant and not the usual fare. A gentle stroll around the grounds takes you through the actual buildings where democracy was saved by dedicated people who worked tirelessly to glean the intentions of the Nazis and give the allies the upper hand from early on. Without these heroes the world might be a different place today. The grounds are kept in immaculate condition and there is even a play area for the children, however on my visit many of the kids were enthralled by the interactive exhibits. A pair of older children (early twenty somethings) were having a great time trying on some of the authentic 40s apparel supplied for the purpose. Photography without flashes is welcome and the cake and tea I had in hut 4 was superb. There are guided and self media assisted tours available but I chose to go it alone as I'm familiar with the history. I would recommend this as a must...