Bletchley Park

We are going in September, as a day trip from London, at the recommendation of friends who went last fall. They told us it is a fabulous full day.

I visited from Coventry and rushed my visit because, as happens all too often with me, I didn't get an especially early start. I don't remember exactly how long I spent at the site but would guess perhaps 6 hours. I am extremely slow at places like that; I use the audio guide and listen to every word, I go in every building, I read every word of posted explanatory material, etc. I did skip the demo of the decoding equipment, but I stopped long enough to have a quick lunch in the cafe. I believe it was cafeteria style or order-at-counter, so it took very little time. There was also a little outdoor spot selling ice cream. I was impressed at the relatively reasonable prices of those two food otions. As I recall, there's a fancier place that perhaps only offers tea (reservation probably required).

I'm confident that the very large majority of visitors do not spend as much time there as I did.

We did not poke in every corner, but had a good 3 hours on site. With the round trip train plus lunch at a fabulous Persian restaurant in Bletchley, it was a full-ish day. We arrived just after opening and I think we were back in London by 16:00. It is a wonderful place to experience.

Bletchley Park was on my bucket list. I stayed in a B&B nearby and the host took me in the morning and picked me up in the afternoon. So I was probably there about 6 hours, too. I also skipped the demo, but I did everything else. The demo was crowded and kind of boring to me. I did get something decent to to eat in the cafeteria. The train station is not a good alternative for food.

The facility is within walking distance of the train station. For me, the map at the "visit" link wants to show me how to get there from Tucson. This is probably a better one. The train station is on it. It looks far away, but it's not. The entrance is at Block C.

I was there in May, 2016. There may be some new buildings open by the time you get there. By all means, go. It's fascinating.

I spent a little over five hours there, which included a break for lunch in the cafeteria. I expected to be there for maybe two, but it was all just so interesting. I found the guided tour to be worthwhile, even though I still didn't really understand the bombe. Be sure to see the room in Hut 8, I think it was, that is devoted to pigeons that served in WWII. I hope it's still there -- it was really charming.

The walk to/from the station takes five minutes.

We drove there en route to a stop further north when we were visited in 2013. Believe we spent about 3 hours there. We don’t read every word. Compared with today’s technology, I found the bombe very interesting, and that given the technology of the time, it actually worked. I was not disappointed that we visited.

Yes, please allow several hours to see it all. It is absolutely fascinating and the guides there are wonderful. We were there about 7 years ago and our tour guide was a lovely, most knowledgeable elderly gentlemen who had been there during the war and shared many stories of what it was like to work there.

Elaine,

I'd suggest planning for the better part of a full day, especially if you also plan on seeing the National Museum of Computing which is nearby. You'll first need to take the Tube to one of the outlying stations to connect with the train that goes to Milton Keynes. The train trip is about an hour from London as I recall.

The Bletchley Park site is an easy walk from the station, as it's basically right across the street. Be sure to have a look at the displays as soon as you enter the site after paying for your tickets. There are lots of buildings to explore and many of them have very interesting displays, so it will take some time to see them all. The old Mansion is especially interesting, and the Bombe computer is fascinating to watch when it's operating. There's a cafeteria for lunch as well. As I recall, it's split into two parts - one part for sandwiches, crisps and that sort of thing, and one part for hot buffet meals.

It's critical to see to see a demonstration of the mechanical mastermind, the decoding "computer". One of the team that helped reconstruct the thing was on duty when I visited and gave an enlightening talk and then made it work. It was among the most important technologies for winning the European war. I don't see a schedule for demonstrations on the website but an e-mail request close to the date of your visit might provide clarification.
Other aspects of espionage are displayed and a short-wave radio station is still operating with its staff of retirees. Bletchley always depended on amateurs as well as military and academic experts. They were isolated at the mansion -- yet, unlike most intelligence operations, were encourage to, uh, mingle, like Silicon Valley nerds making connections over the table hockey games.
Bletchley is a relatively new historic site, with major financial support from high-tech corporations. It developed late at least in part because those "amateurs" had been sworn to secrecy and refused to talk about their experiences even a half-century later. An acquaintance of mine didn't know his mom and been a code-breaker until he was in his mid-60s.
I looked for lunch in the nearby town but unfortunately missed that Persian restaurant mentioned in another post. Two pubs, though.
https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/

If you have only read the BP Trust site you might not be aware that the National Museum of Computing exists. The two Trusts have had an uneasy relationship over the years, and I'm not sure this has been resolved satisfactorily. Although what they show overlaps to some extent, the latter does in some way take the story on so both are worth a visit.

The two Trusts have had an uneasy relationship over the years

slight understatement

Lots to see, you can be there all day if it takes your fancy.

We visited probably about 5 or 6 years ago. Loved it!! I think we spent at least 5 hours there. I've been told that since our visit it has been remodeled. Not sure about that.

We visited there for maybe 3 hours, arriving around 2:30. It is a very short, easy walk from the train station. You will have no problem finding it. My husband is a Computer Science professor, so he found it to be very interesting. We felt that 3 hours was enough time, but that was several years ago. There may be more to do now.

Visited in 2013 and spent 3 or so hours there, but there are newer exhibits that were not there when we visited. We drove, so I can’t speak for visiting by train.

In the current BBC History Magazine that I received today, I read about a new exhibit that opened at Bletchley Park in March: Hut11A: The Bombe Breakthrough. "This exhibition tells the story of the Bombe machines in the actual location - Hut 11A - in which they were housed when they broke the German Enigma code... Objects on show include original blueprints and components as well as decrypted Nazi messages."

Bletchley was wonderful. At least when we were there, we were the only Americans on the tour. We missed the computing history museum, I'd like to go back for that.