Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    The Etches Collection

    5.0 (1 review)

    The Etches Collection Photos

    Recommended Reviews - The Etches Collection

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    2 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Boscombe Down Aviation Collection - Main hanger

    Boscombe Down Aviation Collection

    4.5(2 reviews)
    36.4 mi

    Being an aircraft buff I ensured that this became a part of (my wife's) visit to Salisbury…read moreCathedral. It is 20-30 min by city bus from Salisbury, with the stop about 200m from the museum. A very interesting assortment of fighters and bombers including Prototype #2 of the English Electric Lightning, the first Mach 2 fighter in the world. Visitors are permitted to sit in cockpits of many of the a planes. The museum store sells Airfix model kits (remember those?!). I also noticed a shop near Salisbury Train Station that sold such model kits.

    Not your typical aircraft museum! I visited with a two other guys who were 30+ and it was a great…read morevisit. Really interesting volunteers all eager to talk about anything related to the aircraft , they ranged from a retired Vulcan pilot, retired ground crew to anoraks helping restore some of the planes! Virtually everything could be touched, played with, sat in so I think this would be a great place to take kids - although you'd need to keep a close eye on them as it is a little tricky scaling ladders and getting into some of the cockpits. I really puts a different view on many of the aircraft. We also got to have a go in the Link trainer at the end of the visit which was a good fun and I assume gives you some idea of what it is like to fly (I'm not a pilot). If you are an enthusiast of have kids I'd say it was a great way to spend a couple of hours if you are passing by!

    Photos
    Boscombe Down Aviation Collection - Trying to fly in the Link simulator

    Trying to fly in the Link simulator

    Boscombe Down Aviation Collection - Not a view you get in most museums.  I think this was the Jag cockpit.

    See all

    Not a view you get in most museums. I think this was the Jag cockpit.

    The Tank Museum

    The Tank Museum

    4.5(17 reviews)
    7.5 mi

    Excellent, for anyone with a glimmer of interest in tanks, or indeed engineering. The museum has an…read moreembarrassment of riches, and is by far the best museum of its sort in Western Europe ( especially with the French tank museum , Saumur, on the verge of closing). They have many very rare vehicles, from every tank- producing nation, and have far and away the best collection of British tanks in the world. This is in part because they are the army's custodian for a great deal of captured material ( from WW2, Korea, and the various Gulf wars), and the links to the army are underlined by the fact that it's located within yards of an active army base. The ticket is £13 for an adult- but this allows you return visits in the same year. The killer is the location; it's a long way from any major city, and there is about one train to London per hour). At time of visiting, they had a "Fury" themed display ( most of the Sherman tanks, as well as the Tiger used in filming were borrowed from Bovington).as well as a War Horse" and WW1 exhibition.

    Of all the museums that I have visited throughout the world, the Bovington Camp Tank Museum is my…read morefavorite. In my personal opinion, this museum surpasses the Louvre and British Museum. I am a big tank aficionado, so my opinion is a bit biased. My last visit on March 12th was the best yet. After shopping at their interesting shop, I purchase my entry pass. I told the cashier that I knew that the Sherman tank used by Brad Pitt in the movie "Fury" was under maintenance and not on display. The cashier calls up senior staff and they give me a personal one-on-one visit with the Sherman tank, which was in the workshop. They did not have to be so nice, but they were, so that only confirms my opinion. Tanks from all eras may be found at this amazing place. The Brits produced the first tank in history, Little Willie, named after German Imperial Crown Prince Wilhelm. Winston Churchill, at the time Lord of the Admiralty, sponsored a committee to investigate the building of a new weapon, the tank. Even without a car, the Tank Museum may be reached by taking British Rail to the Wool Station and taking the 104 bus from the Wool Rail station to the Tank Museum entrance.

    Photos
    The Tank Museum
    The Tank Museum
    The Tank Museum

    See all

    The Etches Collection - museums - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...