Yesterday I went to London for the day, I decided it was time to visit the Churchill War rooms.
Travel
So the first thing I had to do was get to London….Train ride for an hour..not bad at all. So I did look online about purchasing an Oyster Travel card…
these run out from around £75 and will give you 3 days unlimited travel and free or discounted entry into many attraction.
The issue for me was and maybe for others also, I don’t want to visit many of the attractions this card covers.
So what is the alternative, I purchased a one day trail travel card, cost £13.10, this card gives you unlimited underground/overground travel in London for one day only.
Although many of the WWII museums are free to enter in London the ques can be long. The Churchill War Rooms actually has an admission charge of £22.50 per Adult. Instead of paying that I purchased a IWM membership, this cost £35.00, however it is well worth it, I can know join the priority ques, so not a lot of waiting around and it is good for any IWM site across the country.
You are also allowed to re-visit for free as many times as you like throughout the year and i have to say that the Churchill War Rooms really does warrant a re-visit as there is so much to see and do one day just is not long enough.
Churchill War Rooms
Once you have sorted your entry, pick up your personal digital guide machine which will guide you through the rooms. Go through the first door and look up, you will see this..
I have to say its a reminder of what London and other cities in the UK went through during the war….imagine hundreds of these dropping out of the sky, never knowing really if its going to land and explode on or near you!!
As soon as you enter the room you are presented with everything you think your going to see and more…its packed with all sorts of rooms, sleeping quarters, Map room, Churchill dining room and kitchen, just to mention a few…check out the photo gallery to see all the pictures from this visit.
Following in the footsteps of the people and Churchill himself was a great experience, you get a feel for what is must have being like during WWII in these dark and windowless rooms…
This place is full of great exhibits ranging from Churchill memorabilia to WWII documentation and all manner of other great things to see and read.
The table above is fully interactive and you just tap on a file and it opens up so you can read it…there is just so much of it, it would take hours to read them all…but worth spending a few minutes looking through. see photo gallery for all pictures..
So I think it would take several days to fully see and interact with everything in this place….I only had a few hours and I certainly will be returning for more….
There is a great gift shop on site too.
As you come out of the museum if you head for the Palace, Northerly direction
Memorials & Monuments
just cross the road and head up the park, cross the front of the Palace and turn left, just on the right is the Canadian Memorial,
walk up the park and you will see the RAF memorial…now it was closed today for cleaning but I still managed to get a picture..
There is loads of seating and places for food in the parks…I then headed back towards the Themes to visit the Battle if Britain Memorial, on route I saw the Women of WWII memorial
and the Monty Statue,
these memorials are basically between Churchill War rooms and the Themes, very close by…
The Churchill Statue is opposite the houses of parliament, from the embankment head towards Big Ben and turn right, cross the road and you will see it.
My next visit to London I will be going to the Imperial War Museum and then on my way home calling at Duxford Air Museum the next day…so watch out for that…
What is happening next, well on the 5th April we are going to see the D Day Darlings in concert..
Mid April going the visit the Dambuster memorial at Woodhall Spa and visit the Hotel they used during the war. Also on the same day, Visiting RAF Conningsby to see the Lancaster museum. So loads more to come..
for all my pictures check out the London Visit Photo’s in the gallery
In the footsteps of war 