Bletchley Park

Yes, I went to Bletchley Park and really enjoyed it. I think it would be very interesting to some 14 year olds and boring to others. It really depends on the interests of the 14 year olds.

There are many of the original buildings and there was a guided tour that was excellent. If an individual is at all interested in computers, history, mathematics or World War II, there is something of interest at Bletchley Park. It is an easy train ride from London which is part of why this location was picked originally. You walk about 5 minutes from the train station to Bletchley Park. There are exhibits on the development of the machines used to crack the code, individuals that were key to this, and interesting tidbits that I certainly hadn't realized before. Some of these exhibits are interactive.

As a practical matter there was also a very nice cafeteria on campus, at least pre-covid.

I would make sure that the teens had a chance to watch a documentary about Bletchley Park before the trip.

I just watched the Imitation Game about the code breakers at Bletchley last week. Maybe a little hyped but you can gauge their interest

I visited Bletchley via train from London in 2018 and it was a wonderful experience—I spent probably 3-4 hours exploring all the exhibits and buildings, and had a snack in the cafe. Highlight was seeing Alan Turing’s office.

Was there for over 3 hours in November of 2021.

Far more interesting than I thought it would be.

Well presented. Knowledgeable docents. Good food at cafeteria.

Open the Bletchley Part link below and have the 14 year olds view the Dan Snow video. See if that interests them.

https://bletchleypark.org.uk/our-story-category/timeline/

As an aside here are a few other things 14 year olds might like in London:
Climbing the O2
The Arcelormittal Tube slide
The Emirates Cable Car ( gondolas over the Thames)
Camden Market
The London Transport Museum
Try the treetop GO Ape experience in Battersea Park
Take a street art tour

I'd agree with the others. You'll know your 14 year olds better than us. Is following clues, working methodically, languages, computers, history, maths, etc., interesting to either of them?

It is a world class place

There is so much to see at Bletchley Park and it has something to interest nearly everyone. If the 14 year olds are into computers they may well enjoy finding out about the enigma machine and how it works and how code breakers break codes.There is also The National Museum of Computing there which is home to home to the world's largest collection of working historic computers. (Let them fall about laughing at how big and cumbersonme early computers were...)

There is also the social side and just how much pressure operators were under and what living conditions were like.

There is a free multimedia guide aimed at the kids (or asn adult version) and also a Top Secret Mission Pack (assuming they aren't too old for this sort of thing) to complete exciting missions in important locations to discover what happened there during WW2. Stamp your official identity card at the gate, sign the Official Secrets Act in the Mansion, take part in codebreaking in Hut 6 and much more.

https://bletchleypark.org.uk/plan-a-visit/families/

As an adult, I found it a fascinating place to visit and spent all day there. Grandsons who are both very much into WW2 also enjoyed it.

We were there in 2013 and enjoyed it. I know improvements have been made since then. Try to gauge your 14 year old’s interest in seeing it, since I remember it being a little pricey to enter.

We loved it and could have spent more time there. The ticket is good for a whole year and we planned to return on our next visit to London in March 2020. Of course, that did not happen.

You can use the interactive map to explore ahead of time if you like.

https://bletchleypark.org.uk/plan-a-visit/visitors/

I cannot tell is the carrier pigeon exhibit is still on in Hut 8, but that was fascinating. We had no idea they played such an important role is WW2.

The train tomBletchley departs from Euston Station. You can save quite a bit, at least on the adult tix, by purchasing them a month or so in advance. For example, tix bought now for tomorrow morning will cost £20.80 ( off-peak fare). Tix bought now for June 10 are as low as £6. Just remember that these Advance fares are good only for the specific train and time selected.

Best time for anyone is when the reconstructed model of the big machine is running. I've never been able to find a schedule but maybe things have changed. Or an e-mail inquiry might be worth a try. Things for the younger guests to note include the strong presence of women in the operation, and also the steely insistence on obeying the official secrets blackout on talking about the operation even long after the war. A friend of mine was in his 60s when he found out his mother had been a code-breaker and never uttered a peep about it. My visit several years ago was just after the movie release. The volunteer staff showed a firm reluctance to the depiction of Alan Turing as a one-man hero genius; they insisted on the teamwork approach.