Royal Air Force Museum Reviews 14

We thoroughly enjoyed our day out to the RAF Museum. Enjoyed looking at the impressive planes and jets, my child loved the soft play (what a great idea to have one in the museum!), the playground was fun and the simulator ride was enjoyable. The staff were all very friendly and kind, in particular, James deserves a special mention as he was so kind when we went on the simulator ride and we enjoyed bantering with him about Bollywood!

This fantastic museum deserves 5 stars, the presentation, variety of displays the helpful staff deserve high praise. Unfortunately the let- down is caused by the unbelievably poor quality , presentation and value-for-money of the food offered in the 'Hendon Kitchen'.
At my visit with friends yesterday at lunchtime, we asked for items 'from the kitchen' part of the menu to be told there nothing available from this part of menu.
I therefore ordered chicken goujons and beans and receive 2 goujons and 10 chips, no beans available , when asked wheres the rest of the goujons were
,I was told they were' extra' on top of the £8.50! I therefore handed this back and had a sausage roll with pickle , one small teaspoon of pickle for 7.50. The sausage roll was dry and virtually impossible to cut - it was disgusting. The wait to be served was at least 5 mins due to understaffing, just 2 on the counter. Conclusion : bring your own food, save money, know what your eating and enjoy the day.

We recently visited the RAF Museum at Hendon and once again had a superb experience. A little while ago we attended the World War One aircraft tour and talk, which was outstanding, so we booked onto the Cold War tour led by Stephen, one of the museum volunteers. It certainly did not disappoint.
Stephen was extremely knowledgeable, engaging and helpful throughout. The aircraft themselves are, of course, the real stars and Hendon has a magnificent collection and display, but being able to enjoy a small guided tour with just four guests added a completely different dimension to the visit. The extra stories, insights and context brought the exhibits to life in a memorable and fascinating way.
This was undoubtedly the highlight of our day and made for a very special visit. Many thanks to Stephen and all the volunteers and staff involved. Fully deserving of 5 stars.

I have given this 3 stars because of the aircraft you can see here, however my wife is disabled and the RAF museum is definitely not disabled friendly. Pretty much all the lifts to higher floors are out of action and each time we come it’s the same situation. Even the disabled lift in hangar 6 was out of action.
Restaurant is good but a little pricey. They also have set meals they apparently cannot deviate from. I asked for a sausage roll chips and beans. Apparently I could have sausage roll and chips but not beans as it’s not part of a set menu?
There is a colouring section for kids in hangar 6 but pretty much all if the pencils are broken and there is no sharpener to sharpen them. Not really much use for colouring then.
It’s still a great day out for free unless of course you are disabled.

It was a family visit (all adults) and the first time for us all. We all thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the planes and getting involved in the interactive games.
Our first stop was the cafe for a very late breakfast of panini’s which were filled well, hot and tasty. The coffee was of a good quality and the cappuccino perfectly made.
All hangers were laid out well and information was clear.
There were adequate staff and the ones we interacted with were friendly and helpful.
Our 5 hour visit means we probably won’t need to return but we would all recommend it.

We book our visit in 30/12 for 31/12 . The museum is amazing and definitely worth visiting it …. But the updates at the page doesn’t simply exist . I’ve got with my 5 year old and a bit while after our arrival , we found out that the playground ( which this is why you get there with a 5year old ) was closed till further notice . The 3d presentation was closed because of technical issue from Monday and the flight simulator it was 2weeks out of service . Things that I’ve found out from a rude employee with passive - aggressive answers, as …yes what can we do things do break down and you can see the planes . Well not with a 5 year old my friend ! The truth as another member of staff admitted was that they were understaffed and most of the activities didn’t work ! Not even staff to see the exhibitions as they were supposed to be seen ! So yes full prise but , 10% of the experience ! Definitely going back but I ll have to make sure that everything is working ! Big disappointment for me and my son !

The aeroplanes are the stars of the show here. All kinds of planes from 1903 to modern day, they are awesome and particularly the warplanes, which both scare you and make you feel very proud of the pilots and crews that gave so much for us. The only Cafe open was expensive (£11 for a sausage roll, chips and some salad!), the sausage roll was good. Staff are mostly friendly, most of the interactive stuff worked but was uninspiring not exciting. I'm not sure this place will survive with just the planes, and that will be a tragedy, as those brave souls (in every conflict) should be remembered forever.

I've been a regular visitor to RAFM Hendon over the last 30 years, but sadly my recent visits have resulted in a progressively worse experience each time. The years-long renovation of the original museum space appears to have plateaud, with odd gaps where aircraft once stood and rather ungainly looking floor markings where exhibitions have been ripped out. The interactive area for kids has vanished, instead replaced by dozens of seats, and the shop is full of tat.

What is good is great, such as H1 and H2, but H3/4/5 just suck the soul out of the visit. The museum desperately needs a bit of energy (and cash) to breathe some life into it.

I first visited the Raf museums way back in the 1970s and most recently had the pleasure of exploring the Hendon site which proved to be a great day out. I took the sensible precaution of using public transport to get there as I am not overly confident that my driving skills would get me round London but on arrival everything was very well run, the staff are on hand to assist and I spent a good 6 hours there looking at the multitude of aircraft on display allowing an hour in the middle for refreshments in their cafe. I will certainly look forward to a return visit at some point in the future. Keep up the good work!

We found the Highlight Tour (1.5 hours) very interesting and good value for money. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions in a friendly manner. We would recommend this tour whether you have visited this museum before or are experiencing it for the first time.

Absolutely fantastic museum. Really enjoyed visiting and would highly recommend to all. I’ll be back!

The museum is amazing. Great collection of aircraft from all eras and you can get really close to them all. The cold war hangar is amazing with such iconic aircraft. Outside there are loads of aircraft to see and a small play area to burn off any last bits of energy. Highly recommend this museum. Staff were amazing, really helpful, really friendly and just wanted to help.

Only down side is the food is pretty expensive and very rubbish - I’ll bring my own next time.

Amazing day out in telford for our kids and as a family i can’t believe its free entry the parking is great eating is great too got everything you need i would pay entry fee for this place amazing

The RAF museum at Hendon has a fabulous display of military aircraft dating back from the dawn of aviation to Cold War jet fighters and beyond. The site itself and it's exhibits is impressive and appears to have been revamped since my previous visits some years ago to make it a more family friendly experience... However this seems to have been at the expense of some of it's more educational exhibits and also the superb Battle of Britain experience that used to be housed in Hanger 1. Anyone visiting now having been to the exhibition in previous years would I'm sure be disappointed... everything has gone and the B of B exhibit is now just a line of four of the fighters in the main hangers, mixed in with other aircraft, and under a ceiling mounted banner, along with a few photographs of some of the personnel from the battle in a corner – the atmosphere and respectful air of the previous installation is conspicuous by it's absence. My review rating for my past visits would have been 5 stars, sadly I would now rate my museum experience as average.