Family weekend breaks: A Grand Day Out at... Eden Camp Museum, North Yorkshire

Add to My Stories A museum housed inside Britain's last surviving Prisoner Of War Camp, Eden Camp Museum is a treasure trove of artefacts and memories from the Second World War - ideal for a family day out.

Plane sailing: Eden Camp Museum is housed within a genuine wartime POW camp

THIS IS AMAZING!Indeed - Eden Camp claims to be the most comprehensive display of Thirties civilian life, and 20th century military history.

BUT IT LOOKS LIKE A PRISONER-OF-WAR CAMPWell spotted - 4.5 acres of huts, the only World War II PoW camp in England still intact and open to the public - it housed German prisoners between 1944 and 1948.

DOESN'T SOUND TOO INVITINGFor them the war is over... the site was transformed into dozens of themed exhibition spaces covering everything from the great battles, to rationing, the Blitz, working in the factories and the mines. It is a unique illustration of the history of the time, with sounds, smells, moving exhibits and even a Music Hall - your chance to sing along with Vera Lynn.

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SOME GREAT HARDWARE?Tanks and half-tracks, guns and replicas of Spitfire, Hurricane and a V1 rocket.

I DON'T LIKE THE LOOK OF THOSEThey are a pair of 2,000 lb bombs, either side of a memorial stone - the national memorial for RAF Bomb Disposal. It also hosts the largest collection of underwater chariots - those small subs whose exploits (and crews' bravery) still defies belief.TALKING OF EXPLOITS, WHAT ARE THOSE CHILDREN DOING?
That is the junior assault course - the Tiny Tot Commandos (from aged two). Plucky blighters.

AND FOR LUNCH?Appropriately themed Prisoners' Canteen and Officers' Tearooms offering straightforward, reasonably priced fare - a Home Guard is a pasty in this context, ju! st so yo u know.

ANY SECRET INTELLIGENCE?Yes... it is cash-only entry and there are a lot of schools visiting in the morning during term time, so holidays and afternoons are best for the rest of us.

DETAILSEden Camp, Malton, N. Yorks YO17 6RT, 01653 697777, www.edencamp.co.uk. Entry: adults 5.50, children 4.50.


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