Stockport Air Raid Shelters
A labyrinth of tunnels carved under the town centre that sheltered thousands in the Blitz, explored with a self-guided audio tour. Atmospheric in the best way for 7-and-ups.
Avro Heritage Museum
- Cost
- Adults £9, under-11s free
- Ages
- 5 to 16
- Where
- Stockport, Greater Manchester
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Pay online or on arrival
The Avro Heritage Museum sits on the former Woodford Aerodrome, where Avro built the Lancaster, the Vulcan and the Nimrod. It is run by volunteers, many of whom worked at Woodford and Chadderton, and outside stands Vulcan XM603, which the museum says is the only all-white Vulcan bomber. Inside are British-built aircraft from early flight to the nuclear age, and the first-floor café looks straight down on the Vulcan.
For a young family it is cheap. Adults pay £9, children aged 11 to 16 pay £5 and under-11s go free, with a family ticket for two adults and two children at £25. The flight simulator is free and first come, first served, with a seat from a real aircraft and a proper yoke. The WWII VR raid, built from a 1943 BBC recording aboard a Lancaster, is also free, but only for ages 13 and up.
Cockpit tours are where the extra money goes: £2 each for the VC10, the Vulcan and the replica Lancaster, and £3 for the Nimrod. They cannot be booked, depend on a guide being free, and the outdoor ones close in poor weather. It is open to the public Friday to Sunday and bank holiday Mondays, 10am to 4pm. Parking is free, and the way in runs through a building site, so follow the brown signs.
What it costs: Adult £9, child 11 to 16 £5, under-11s free, over-60s £7, family (2 adults and 2 children) £25, carers free. Cockpit tours extra: VC10, Vulcan and replica Lancaster £2 each, Nimrod £3. Flight simulator and VR raid free. Pay online or on arrival.
Know before you go
- Open to the public Friday to Sunday and bank holiday Mondays only, 10am to 4pm.
- The museum says the SK7 1AG postcode may not take you to the door: put in SK7 1SA (near the Aviator pub) and follow the brown signs.
- Cockpit tours depend on a guide being free and outdoor cockpits shut in bad weather, so ring 01625 877 534 first if that is the main event.
Worth knowing: WWII VR raid is 13 and over.
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