Bletchly Park

I think it's probably only recently become a place of more wide-spread interest thanks to the PBS series The Bletchley Circle and of course the wonderful movie The Imitation Game. When I return to London I will definitely make a day trip there, curious to see what other responses you get. You might check Trip Advisor, lots of helpful reviews there.

I didn't know about the PBS series. Our daughters got interested because of Connie Willis' novels Blackout and All Clear about time travelers to the Blitz. My husband has always been interested in codes and military intelligence. We intended to visit in 2012 but didn't make it. I'll check Trip Adviser. Thank you!

We've been. It is a day trip from London. I can't remember how we got there now, but it must have been by train or subway. I could have spent longer there, but I am very interested in WWII, computers, and code breaking. There is a very good film that revolves around Bletchley that I think is called 'Enigma.' Also, there was a good play called 'Breaking the Code' about Alan Turing.

We visited Bletchley Park in late August and loved our day there. As this was a destination for us, we stayed in Milton Keynes for two nights in order to have a full day at Bletchley. We arrived when the doors opened and spent the whole day there. We could have stayed longer had we had the energy! The exhibits were all very interesting. We took the walking tour which started at the Chauffeur's Hut (tickets available from the Mansion - free). This was excellent. Highly recommend this visit if you are interested in this era and the enigma code.

We visited about 4 years ago - we have a great interest in WWII. We also stayed in Milton Keynes. It's definitely a very worthwhile site to see and we spent most of a day. We did have a car. Since we were there I've heard they have done some remodeling.

I visited in July 2010. It was an easy day trip from Euston (not as originally written St Pancras). I took the earliest non-peak train to get the cheap price and had plenty of time to see the entire site, including the post office and the house. There were guided tours led by docents. My timing was good and my tour was shortly after I arrived (had to sign up at the desk), led by someone who had a professional connection with Bletchley - though a number of years after WWII. The only problem was that there was a tube strike on when I got back to London . . . rather long walk back to my hotel.

On that trip I also visited the Churchill War Rooms, another fascinating sight. The most interesting part for me was watching videos of some of the people who worked there during the war telling of their experiences.

Edit - thanks for the train station correction. I don't know why, I always seem to mix up those two.

We are certainly going. The question now is timing. We have just three days in London at the tail end of a 35 day trip. We arrive on a Thursday in late July and have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in London to do Bletchley before flying out Monday morning. Bletchley seems to be a sight heavily touristed by British families, so the weekend might be the most crowded, but the trains might be cheaper so we could get there a little before opening. Any thoughts?

Bletchley seems to be a sight heavily touristed by British families,

I'm not completely sure about that. I see people going to Bletchley Park every day, and a lot - maybe most - are North Americans, either Canadian or US.

Be sure to use the proper names for places - there are so many in England that sound similar or are nearby each other.

When giving an address, include the whole name. A lot of addresses have the same first part. In London there is a Bletchley Court and a Bletchley Street. The town of Bletchley, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire - where you are going - is duplicated several times around the country.

The museum you are going to is Bletchley Park. At the same location is the National Computing Museum, highly recommended. The station you want is Bletchley station. When you leave the station bear right and go effectively straight until you can turn right on the road ahead, and turn right. It is the first on the left, well signposted - just a couple of minutes walk.

You need a London Midland train from Euston station. Make sure that it calls at Bletchley because although most do, many do not.

The fares are the same 7 days a week, the only difference is that the cheapest tickets don't have time (commuting peak time) restrictions on weekends. There are fewer trains on Sundays, and often trains when schools have just broken up for the summer (late July) can be very busy.

Bletchley Park opens at 9:30.

Thank you Nigel for the detailed directions.

jen,

I visited Bletchley Park in September and it's a very easy trip from London. The journey from Euston station to Bletchley was less than an hour each way (depending on which train you use). When you arrive at Bletchley, as Nigel mentioned it's well signposted. Just follow the herd as there will be others from the train heading to the Museum, and it's only about a 10 minute walk.

The entrance to the Museum is rather subtle. The two large brown doors in the photo are the entrance. At the time you pay your admission (mine was the senior rate of £14.75 as I recall), you can also buy a souvenir booklet which has lots of great information on the history (can't remember the cost of that but it may have been about £10 or so).

Be sure to allow LOTS of time for the visit (a full day would be good) as there are many buildings on the site and each one of them contains interesting history on how the code breaking was accomplished. The old and elegant Mansion was interesting. There's also a cafe there which offers "cold" items such as sandwiches and "hot" items from a buffet, so you can take a relaxing break for lunch.

The Bombe computer at Bletchley is a replica of the original, as the one that was used during the war was torn apart at the end of the war to protect the secrecy of the device. I was told that when the blueprints were declassified, the staff at Bletchely Park built the fully functional replica (with the help of some large corporations with deep pockets). Apparently GC-HQ still sends Enigma-coded messages to B.P. on a regular basis, which are decoded with the Bombe. It's a fascinating process to watch.

As Nigel mentioned, you can also visit the National Computing Museum. Unfortunately I didn't have time for that. After hiking about the Bletchley Park site for the better part of the day, I was just about completely worn out. I did manage to stop at the small but interesting Amateur Radio station which is also on the site, and had a good chat with staff there. All were fellow "Hams" so that was interesting for me.

Happy travels!

Visiting Bletchley Park will be one of the highlights of my UK trip in May. After reading all the responses so far, I'm very glad that I'll be spending 2 nights there. But I was concerned that I still might not have enough time.

Fortunately, I'm arriving from Moreton-in-Marsh and if I can work out the logistics, I can get there in time to see something before it closes at 17:00. That means I can take advantage of this information on their website: "Admission price entitles you to an Annual Season Ticket, which is valid for as many visits as you would like during the twelve-month period from the time of your first visit. Your admission fee includes complimentary use of the newly-launched Multimedia Guide and an optional one-hour, outdoor, walking guided tour with one of our volunteer tour guides subject to availability." And I can see the Museum of Computing that others have had to miss due to time and fatigue. I can hardly wait.

Thank you Ken. The amount of detail people here provide is very generous. I'm getting pretty excited about Bletchely Park.

jen,

One more comment to add.....

"Bletchley seems to be a sight heavily touristed by British families, so the weekend might be the most crowded"

In July it will likely be crowded even during the week days. Once you've seen the museum just inside the entrance, you can wander around the grounds which are quite large, so probably won't seem as crowded. To provide an example, THIS view of the mansion was not exactly crowded mid-day (although this was in September).

If you can manage, you could go on Friday, but otherwise Saturday would probably be the best day.

We visited Bletchley Park this past August on a Thursday. It's definitely a easy day trip from London. There were quite a few people there, but it was not all that crowded. I'd also recommend the tour that starts by the garage, the guide was quite engaging (and mentioned that relatively few Americans visit).

The original poster mention visiting with their family. There is a group rate on the train for three or more people traveling together that is about a 30% discount on the off peak fare. I was not able to figure out how to get the group rate with the ticket machines, but the ticket agent at Euston handled it.

Is it worth an overnight stay? Anyplace nice to stay there?

Lola,

I suppose it would be worth an overnight stay if you really want to explore both Bletchley Park and the National Computing Museum in depth. While that could probably be done in one long day, it would likely be quite tiring.

Nigel would be the best one to comment on places to stay, as he lives in that area. I've never had occasion to research hotels there. I believe MIlton Keynes is the nearest large centre where hotels might be found.

Thank you, Ken. I was thinking of a stop on our way between Paris and the Lake District next May. Milton Keynes is right on the way, and coukd be a good place to stop overnight to break up the journey. But the area appears fairly bleak in terms of charming lodging options. And right now I am distracted and upset by what happened in Paris tonight. It seems frivolous to think about travel for pleasure right now. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the ones who were killed or wounded.

Lola,

I share your sentiments regarding the Paris events of today, and hope all those affected recover quickly.

Regarding staying in Milton Keynes, there appears to be lots of hotels.....

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotels-g187055-Milton_Keynes_Buckinghamshire_England-Hotels.html

I don't know which hotels are best in terms of proximity to the museums, but I'm sure Nigel will have lots of good suggestions as soon as he spots this post. There should be something reasonable in that area, and it's only for one night so not a huge problem.

Ken, thanks for pointing this thread out to me.

Lola, I appreciate your concern after the horrors of last night. We are all trying to come to terms with it, and don't know if it is only the beginning.

Neither the new city of Milton Keynes nor its old town of Bletchley are either scenic or beautiful. Milton Keynes is largely new and built on a grid plan with hundreds of roundabouts. Bletchley is a working class town. Bletchley Park is near the centre, very near the station and adjacent to a fire station and police headquarters.

I don't know if you will be in a car, Lola, but most chain hotels in the area are easier by car. Hilton, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Jurys Inn, Premier Inn all have outlets. The Jurys Inn is easy by train at Milton Keynes Central station, 4 minutes by train from Bletchley station.

7 minutes south of Bletchley by train is Leighton Buzzard with a very scenic town centre in both Leighton Buzzard and where the station is in Linslade. I've never looked for hotels there but I think there are some non-chain ones.

Note that the National Museum of Computing and the main Bletchley Park Trust have had spells of publicly seeming to not get on very well with each other. There seems to be an truce at the moment. Not that this should be a real concern to the visitor of either/both, but is worth keeping in mind should some odd remark be heard at one about the other.

Marco, that's why I always encourage the National Museum of Computing and soft pedal Bletchley Park.

I found it abominable when all the old volunteers who had actual personal knowledge of Bletchley Park were summarily dismissed for having had the cheek to mention the National Museum of Computing as they were shepherding their charges around.