royal air force museum, cosford

Well my day was looking good from the start as when I arrived at the car park 2 Jaguars were running on the RAF base for marshalling/start up practice, all in view of the car park! Bliss!£3.50 to park, which considering the museum is free entry is no real heartache. This was my second visit in 6 years after the revamp and it's still looking good. I've heard moaning about how crowded the hangars are and as a photographer I can see that, however, I am a firm believer that the more under cover the better, so if overcrowding is the cost to pay for keeping aircraft from rotting, then so be it as far as I'm concerned. The displays are varied and colourful and even though I didn't go with my kids I imagine it to be somewhere they'd really enjoy to be. The biggest thing I was impressed with were the staff. A great mix of young and old and all of them friendly, polite and above all helpful, offering to move things for us to get a picture. One lady in Test Flight stood out in particular, who went out of her way to be helpful and informative, fetching us information (I think she may have been South African and had Carol written on her radio). The other benefit was that tripods were allowed, which has meant some cracking no flash-pictures. At the risk of causing rivalry, I think Hendon could learn a lot from Cosford. I go to the former a lot more frequently due to where I live and always find the staff very stand-offish and critical of every move being made, the exception being the archives staff at Hendon who are extremely helpful. Food was fairly pricey, but as the museum is free entry again I didn't mind, plus the option to picnic is there for anyone who can plan ahead!

I visited RAF Cosford with my husband on his birthday. The £3.50 parking charge is a reasonable amount to pay for a day out, even if you don't have kids. However, I can understand the disappointment of the man who can no longer drop in for an hour. A variable charge might not work, but I see no reason not to make the first hour free.I also agree with reviewers who would like the café to be open a bit longer (the van in the Cold War hangar closes even earlier) and it would be nice if hot snacks like bacon butties were available after 11am. Not everyone wants a full meal at lunch time. This niggle isn't enough to dock one star - I'd give 4.5 if I could.I'm not an aircraft buff and neither is my husband. We do like visiting museums and have enjoyed air museums as much as any other. We don't mind that you're not allowed to touch or get into the exhibits. It's not something I'd expect to be allowed to do. Being disabled, I'd have trouble getting in anyway. It was nice to be able to wander round and get close to some iconic aircraft. There was enough information on the boards to satisfy our interest, although I can see that some people might want to know more. Only the Cold War hangar is on two levels and that has lifts, making this site very disabled-friendly.We visited on a weekday and there were few children. This made it a nice quiet day out. We didn't speak to many of the staff. Those we did speak to were friendly and cheerful. Over all a good day out.

I know this is a delayed review Went this museum a few years ago with my wife who Has mental health issues and can be nervous... On entering my wife was very excited but was greeted very rudely by a women on the front desk.. It upset my wife's mood for the rest of the visit... I'm not knocking the museum as it was a great experience... And has many interesting exhibits... But feel they could do with some one less obnoxious on the front desk.... Sad really I hope she has had some staff training since.

This is a great place to visit on a wet day, it is all undercoverIf you aircraft or are interested in history this place will suit, it contains many aircraft from around the world as well as costumes weapons engines etcThere is a "hands on" area for children to explore "science" in a fun wayThere is no charge for admission, there is however a charge for car parking. Still excellent valueThere are cafe/snack bars on siteTake a camera with you, there is plenty to see

I love visiting this place so much. You can spend the whole day here. I can't believe that it is FREE to visit. Make sure you take a camera as there are so many photo opportunities. I would highly recommend to anyone.

I was going to go to the Midland Air museum at Coventry but as that was outside and the weather bad we had to make a change of plan. As I has promised myself Aircraft the choice was obvious......RAF Cosford! I have visited a good few times over the years and always enjoy my visits. I love the experimental craft, I love the WW1 and WW2 collection, I love the Cold War collection and I love the engines , missiles and aircraft in Hangar one. Did I mention I love Cosford? Special exhibitions were on WW1 (obviously), Afro Caribbeans in the RAF (superb) and aviation art ( for sale at very reasonable prices) The chips in the canteen were ok if a little processed (No idea how much they cost as I nicked them off my friend) admission is an exorbitant £0.00 and car parking £2.50 for 3 hours or £3.00 all day ( Pay the £3.00 as this is not a 3 hour museum! Last time I was there I took the train (Station is 10 mins walk away) and we got free drinks for using public thansport. Did I mention that I am very fond of Cosford?

A great place to visit with or without kids. Plenty to see and do. And best of all it's free entry, other than paying a small charge to park the car (it was way worth more then the £3.50). They are definitely under selling themselves. Plenty of photo opportunities - I took over 200 pictures during our 3 hour visit.Even the food was reasonably priced and tasty!!Have recommended my parents take the grandchildren there at Easter while they are in the area.Would quite happily visit again next time we are there!! If you are in the area and have a couple of hours free - GO!!

Took our two children 6 and 3 for a cheap day out and they lived it. Free entry and parked for a couple of quid, spent around three hours there, lots to see you could easily spend all day if you read all the info, will def revisit

Went here on a day trip with a local coach firm from my area, can't fault the exhibits everything was well laid out spacious, airy and very clean the museum is arranged over four hangars and there are some larger exhibits situated outside.There are plenty of toilet facilities in the main foyer area and also in the hangars, there is a cafeteria in the main foyer and it was very busy when we arrived, there is a range of sandwiches and hot food and drinks, which I personally found quite pricey £3.20 for a sandwich but if you don't want to eat in the cafeteria you could bring a picnic as there are plenty of picnic benches around the place, there is also a small coffee bar in the Cold War Hangar again a bit pricey and when we went I found it a bit dirty but the museum was very busy as it was half term so maybe they were a bit overwhelmed, the shop is also in the Cold War Hangar with a good range of gifts to suit all pockets.They also have events at certain times during the year, when we were there there was model making for the children in Hangar 1 which was very popular.Unfortunately the Dornier D17 wasn't on display when we went, one of the staff informed us it was away being sprayed bit of a dissapointment as I would like to have seen it but it didn't spoil the day.Any staff we came into contact with were very friendly and helpful, would recommend this museum, would definately visit again in the future

We recently visited here as a treat for my husband's birthday. Can't praise it enough. A really great day out, even for me who isn't that interested in planes. Well laid out, great facilities and free admission. We now feel inspired to go to other RAF museums.

This place is great for the kids. And even better it is free entrance. There are some amazing things to see and great photo opportunities. It's great when the sun is out as there are lawns out front for picnics.

This attraction is wonderful. Its free to get in and the people and planes etc are great.The restaurant and café are excellent and the home made sausage rolls are out of this world the best Ive ever tasted.Well worth going.

We visited this weekend and could not believe how they managed to get as much as they did in the space available. We live near Manchester but you could fit the Air and Space Museum in one corner of this attraction. The care and attention was fantastic we even saw one worker cleaning the undercarriage of one of the places with a toothbrush. If you thought the Vulcan was big try standing underneath the exhibit. Will hopefully visit again along with our grandchildren.

Visited with my brother and was impressed by the quality of the items displayed and the manner in which they are displayed. Having travelled some distance we first had a very nice cup of coffee and my brother had one of the fruity scones in the café/restaurant. We then spent the next three hours wandering through the hangars and excellent displays of Aircraft, engines and artefacts and were impressed by the quality of the display items and the way they had been displayed some of the items I had read of in books but had never seen at 2 to 6 feet before. All the staff were extremely friendly and helpful particularly the ladies on reception, who put a smile into the day! The only downside were some unruly schoolchildren, teenagers behaving like tots, running noisily about spoiling the other visitors day, where were their teachers or supervisors. They were very rude to the female security officer and needed removing. Other than that one of the best museum visits I have had in some time.

Went to RAF Cosford at half term with two boys aged 4 & 8 and like any boys they loved looking at the planes, tanks, and everything linked to the military. There are many things to see and there is a chance for children to interact with different activities for free, there are alot activities that cost. The entrance is free and you only have to pay for parking, I would allow at least 3 hours plus to get everything in, we took a picnic, and the are tables to sit at, and there is a cafe. It was raining on our visit so we didn't spend long outside, but there is plenty to occupy everyone in the hangers. We would recommend this to everyone particularly with kids of a certain age, it's free and will amaze everyone, well I loved it anyway.