It’s four years sine my last (first) visit and we found it a really enjoyable and thought provoking day. The exhibition is an excellent introduction to the history and purpose of memorials - should be a permanent feature! The introduction of the hand set commentary is a great idea but the numbers on the memorials aren’t clear enough so it was difficult to make full use of them. The guides are all very helpful though.
Although the drought has affected the grounds, it does seem a shame that more care has not been taken to keep the area weed free as parts look very unkempt and uncared for though. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend a visit.

The scale and sheer array of monuments are staggering. We took the land train which gave a fabulous overview of the site, with commentary. I would recommend this option. We then walked around the site and visited many monuments. The "Shot at Dawn" memorial is stunning as is the main monument to remember all service people lost since WW2. My 10 and 12 year olds were completely engrossed.

At the going down of the sun, we will remember them.

As the final rays of light receded from a decommissioned Bofors gun, the scene at the National Memorial Arboretum all but spelt out the Ode of Remembrance.

A serene and contemplative centre of remembrance spread across 150 acres, the Arboretum is both a fixed memorial and a work-in-progress, reflecting the ongoing involvement of British forces personnel who continue to serve across the world.

Spread across 150 acres, the memorials lie within a hushed wooded landscape behind a visitors’ centre with a café, restaurant and Heroes’ Square.

It was my first visit, through I had been given an insight into the ingenuous, ever-changing nature of the memorials with a preview of leading aviation artist David Bent’s exhibition marking 100 years of the RAF, which ran between March and July 2018. David and partner Carole had hosted me at their studio in Swindon to look through the striking, geometric designs ahead of the Tribute 100 display. Visiting for the annual summer prom, we had a chance to stroll among the memorials, including the decommissioned Bofors anti-aircraft gun honouring the Maritime Regiment and Royal Navy Gunners. It’s one of more than 300 memorials that give dignified but powerful form to the past sacrifices which have taken place on a colossal scale.

The last rays of sunshine were also falling on the simmering glass memorial for the Royal Navy and associated services as walked around the grounds.

Made of 13 coloured glass panels to the side of a bowed stone figure, it cast shadows that appeared like tall, Trafalgar-era war ships sailing side-by-side.

At the heart of the site is the elevated Armed Forces Memorial, where more than 16,000 names of the fallen are inscribed on the structure’s stone walls.

Hulking bronze statues give muscular presence to their toils.

Blank panels, to be updated yearly, are one of the most sobering aspects of this quietly imposing tribute overlooking the surrounding countryside.

Below us, the Royal Anglican Regiment band was setting up on stage, ahead of a night of music with a strong World War One centenary theme. It was a reminder that the songs would once have been a light in dark hours for the regiments, comrades and loved ones remembered in the grounds.

What a fantastic place to visit. The arboretum is very well organised clearly signposted£ and very thought provoking.
The attraction is free to visit . You can take part in a train journey around the grounds to view the various monuments for a small cost.
The grounds are accessible to all abilities.
There is a cafe and a coffee shop offering a good choice of food and drink.
You can spend a couple of hours or a whole day looking around.
There is a £3.00 charge for car parking.

What an amazing place, £3 to park would have paid £5. Such a peaceful and informative place. People who have written previous reviews complaining should be ashamed of themselves. Lots of volunteer workers there, from old to young doing a fab job. It makes you sit and reflect what our armed forces do for us, past and present. Listening to the stories about what the young men went through in the prisoner of war camps was heartbreaking. Knowing an elderly gentleman who celebrated his 100th birthday in July survived what they did is an honour to know him. The poor young soldiers shot at dawn, most of them 'age unknown', so sad. Would definitely return.

We had a day trip here and thought it was a great day out. We did the land train first which gave us a good start to were we wanted to have a walk to first as the site is huge... Once you start walking around and seeing all the names and dates of the war memorials, it's very moving and thought provoking of what they gave for there country. But it is also nice to see memorials for other stuff than military. We took our own lunch and drinks with us so am unable to comment on cafe although the food that came out did look good. Parking is £3 for all day and then donations for going in, so all in all good value for money. The shop had a good selection of stuff in, we only bought a couple of things as I did think it was a bit on the pricey side...

This is an amazing, poignant place where the UK can honour our fallen military heros of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. I expected hallowed ground but found a site that despite opening over a decade ago is still unfinished. The parklands should be as well kept as any Royal Park in Central London, or National Trust garden - indeed they should be world class. But they are not. The grounds were covered in weeds, incomplete, under construction; and in large areas bare or inappropriately muddy - in the formal gardens, not the wilder parts of the woodland. There was a feel of early neglect or indifference in the grounds grassy areas and lack of senior oversight or vision. Whoever manages the National Memorial Arboretum needs to walk the memorials and grounds with a fresh set of eyes and ask themselves honestly if their garden maintenance standards are anywhere high enough. In my view they are not. Our military heros deserve only the best - and the grounds I visited today were far off the mark. If I've been here with foreign guests I'd have been embarrassed. Come on, our fallen heros deserve much much higher standards for the settings to these amazing memorials.

This place is a 'must visit' location for all of us who value the freedom we enjoy.
If one only visits a selection of the memorials, the sacrifices made by others become only too clear. Very helpful guides will help you plan your visit.
The daily 1100 twenty minute service in the remembrance chapel will set the scene.
Only mandatory expenditure is the £3 all day parking charge.
The cafe serves an excellent lunch!
Do not confuse with a theme park.

What a wonderful place this is to remember our heroes, the land train is recommended for your first visit. We spent over 5 hours here and didn't get to see it all, we will deffinately be returning. The restaurant provided a very welcome cup of tea, you can also get full meals.There is also a very nice gift shop which sells poppy gifts. Its so peaceful and emotional,i felt the avenue of trees dedicated to sleeping babies and young children particularly sad.

A pleasant way to spend an afternoon in a peaceful place. A memorial to the fallen of many different disciplines. Excellent facilities and pleasant helpful staff. The restaurant was spacious and well stocked with tasty well presented/made food. Car parking was £3 all day. with free entrance (with suggested donation of £5). Extra £6 charges per adult for the land train which was an enlightening experience and informative. Just a pity there was no reduction for senior citizens for whom the land train is ideal.

We visited this place whilst on a recent trip to Derby. Located just off the A38 near Lichfield, it is a lovely place to visit dedicated to those people from all walks of life that have served the country - mainly from the armed forces but also people in other services such as the fire service. It is free to enter though you do pay for car parking - currently £3 and for any extras such as tours of the site. There is a ‘train’ ride you can take to give you a good feel for what is there which lasts about 45 mins and then you are free to wander around to look more closely at each memorial. Whilst extremely busy, there is plenty to see and there is never a feeling of overcrowding. Well worth a visit if in the area.

Group of 2 adults and 3 children aged 2-12. We had a lovely few hours wandering round. Very helpful staff to get you where you want to go. Children enjoyed making flags for a memorial.

We ate in the restaurant, bit chaotic but the food was nice.

Will definitely return.

All day parking £3. The main building houses British Legion shop, restaurant, coffee bar, reception and book counters. Golf buggys and pavement train available at extra cost. The total site encompasses 150 acres. I suppose it would be entirely possible to walk a distance of 5K. without recrossing oneself. This is no venue to see in a rush. I thought for a minute just how many stories the men and women remembered here could tell. Good to see, the 'Legion' has all in hand. Additional coffee shops in Hero's square. A superbly high quality attraction easily reached off A38 near Burton on Trent. I was impressed by the number of retirees wearing formal blazers and decorations, even encountered some from my days at sea.

A really good place to visit for a reminder of the service and sacrifice people have given and made in the past. The number of organisations represented is continually increasing so there is truly something for everyone. Since its beginning, the trees have grown and their continued development can only enhance the experience.The staff are friendly and the facilities are very good. Allow plenty of time for your visit.

We have said a few times that we would visit here if we came this far down south again. We didn't realise how close to our holiday accommodation this was. It is a must. We walked around here on a day that was at least 30 degrees and unfortunately didn't manage round ALL of it but we made a good dent in it. we got there just before 11 and didn't leave till nearly gone 4. There was a couple of memorials going on that day been held by veterans and serving military. My family are all ex military but this place is in remembrance of lots of different types of services and charities.
Cost nothing for going in apart from the 3 pound for all day parking. They do ask that you put a donation of 5 pound...
Well worth the visit. Pay your respects and enjoy the walk.

A very well laid out place of remembrance, so much to see. I agree with many others that this is a place that needs more than one visit. It must be noted that all the staff that we encountered were friendly, helpful and courteous.

Please take your time to understand but enjoy this very large site
Well worth a few visits as there is so much to see.

It wasn’t on my list of places to go and we only went because we were with friends. How wrong I was. What an amazing place. Very respectful. Just perfect. Took the little motorized tour round. Very interesting. I would go again

what a fantastic please , set in wonderful scenery , these monuments dedicated to the memory of all the armed service is a long lasting memory, public entry is free , but donations are welcome to keep the site running

We have been here a few times, we just love it. Such lovely, peaceful, relaxing and calm place this.
We highly recommend a visit.

Amazing place.....National Memorial Arboretum!
Everyone should try to visit here sometime in their lives to reflect on how much we owe to so many!

Had a lovely day today walking round visiting all the different memorials. Too many to view in one day alone.
Our main aim was to see the Scouting memorial which we thought was very appropriate and well thought out.

We have always delayed going as statues, memorials are not our thing. However it is well spread out, plenty of seats and paths to walk on including some by the River Thame, so potentially lots of wildlife to see as well as trains on the Derby line. Car parking is £3 per day or part thereof, Admission is free but you pay for guided tours, exhibitions and Land Train if you wish to use any of these - we made our own way and will be back - next time with a picnic!. The coffee shop is great and dog friendly and there is a very good restaurant. There are dedicated dog walks and the staff are knowledgeable and very good. A nearby quarry can seem noisy in such a peaceful area, but that apart I think you will enjoy your visit. Use the interactive information service before you start if you want to find a particular memorial or one dedicated to a person or group. You can hire wheelchairs and mobility scooters or make use of the guided tours using large golf buggies. Worth visiting

Wasn't what I expected but then that's my ignorance. Once we started to walk around it was very interesting, I found the polish memorial particularly moving with so much information carved into the stone, it really helped you understand what they went through. I also found the memorials for the Asian campaigns of the 2nd world war a very stark reminder how people suffered under the Japanese, something which is often forgotten. My dad spent much of his naval career in the war in that part of the world and seeing the photo exhibition was especially close from my family perspective. It's a very large area to visit so pace yourself. Lovely food in the restaurant and staff are lovely.

What a place. Arrived around 9.30 on a Sunday and spent 4 hours that just flew by.
We attended the 2 minutes silence in the chapel at 11am. With a 15 minute talk after about how the site started. The speaker was enthusiastic and wanted to share so much.
We took the train round the site. £6 per adult which was worth every penny. In this very hot weather it allowed us to see and learn about so many of the memorials we would not have gotten to.
Every volunteer we came across was so helpful and polite, such an accet to the arboretum. We spent 4hours but you could spend all day.
The cafe sells food and drink at a reasonable price with options to suit everyone. Unlike many places there are lots of tables to accommodate the large number of people who visit each day.

You must visit.