What a wonderful memorial to all our brave service personell who fought with us and alongside very humbling.

Found our trip very thought provoking and shed a couple of tears particularly when visited the forgotten army memorial for those who fought in Burma as my dad had. Recommend doing the train tour to get your bearings so not to miss those you particularly want to see. Also worth wandering and enjoying the fauna and flora. The volunteers doing a wonderful job and are only to happy to help with directions or questions. If arrive early can park at the main gate rather than the overflow car park. Costs £3 for day.

lovely place and surroundings

had a service here for tunisia terrorist attack 2015

went with other survivors loads of different forces marching about was lovely to see and hear

well worth a visit

Visited on armed forces day didn't know about building work going on till October which spoilt it a bit for us.plenty of stalls and other activities happening which we enjoyed. But one thing we where looking forward to was the ride by of the motorcycles which didn't happen for health and safety reasons.Which is usually very good and very well attended. But despite that the day was a great spectacle for armed forces well done everyone involved.

Even though the weather was awful we had a great time wandering around this wonderful place and will definitely be returning

This place simply helps those who have lost loved ones with dignity and grace.
It has solace and serenity that is needed sometimes.
The staff are superb and all one can say is "thank you".
God be with our heroes.

Even if you have no family members involved in any conflicts, this place is a peaceful and interesting . A gentle stroll around gives you time to reflect and think your own thoughts of past and present wars.

We visited the Arboretum after staying locally for one night before we continued heading south. There is abundant parking for £3 per day, although the car park is a short walk across a fairly busy road which might not suit elderly visitors. There is however lots of disabled parking right at the entrance! The permanent Visitors Centre is still being built, however the current prefabricated one is excellent with a nice little cafe that does a delicious toastie. I would also like to mention that the staff (who I believe are mostly volunteers) were all very nice and very helpful, and the manager was very nice in allowing us to donate and book land train tickets by card (which they don't usually take) as we were unable to locate a bank machine locally. I would like to say that the arboretum is lovely, and a worthy tribute to those service personnel and also a number of civilian organisations who have served our country faithfully and in many cases have made the ultimate sacrifice. We chose to go round on the land train (£5 each) which visits a large part of the grounds over the course of an hour, as it is very large and would probably take several hours to see everything on foot and would involve a lot of walking. Overall a very good visit.

We visited here while staying in Lichfield before going to Bruges. I had seen details about it online and seeing as we were so close I wanted to visit.
Unfortunatley the weather was not on our side and it started raining when we arrived, so we decided to have a cuppa in the cafe and see if it subsided but it didn't. At is is free to visit we decided to leave and return later if the weather got better.
When we eventually got back later in the day we only had about 2 hours to look round so I made a whistle stop tour of the monuments with my camera while my better half went into the Far East Prisoners of War exhibition.
There are so many to look at that I just didn't have time. Some are just small monuments - including one to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy which is two small columns, while some are huge like the Armed Forces Memorial. The shot at dawn memorial for those shot for cowadice or desertion is very moving.
There are far too many to mention individually and most are very impressive and all are poignant.
It is a lovely peaceful place to spend the day and look around them all. My husband spent most of his time in the Far East exhibition and so didn't look round much as it was so interesting. I had a quick look in myself however it was very upsetting. I did however manage to find my great uncle's name on the list of soilders who had died there and I intend to send a picture of him to them so that they can add it to there collection. It was nice to think that he will be remembered and is there for people to see as he is buried overseas where he died - he was only in his early 20's like so many others who gave there lives, and continue to do so in conflicts overseas.
I would recommend everyone to visit this beautiful place of peace and tranquility to reflect on the courage of others.

Beautiful tributes set in a beautiful riverside location.So peaceful and thought provoking.Alot is out in the open so not good on a rainy day.New memorials being added all the time some are stunning beautiful artwork.A great place for reflection

I would strongly advise everyone to visit the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. It is an amazing place which contains memorials from many conflicts in various parts of the globe.
The site is large and you really need hours to walk around the memorials to the different services. All are remembered here from those in the Royal Navy, Air Force and Army to the Merchant Navy and the Land Girls. There are too many to mention but all share the same ability to touch the hearts and minds of those who read the stories.

We visited on June 6th which is the anniversary of D Day and there was a service held whilst we were there and veterans of the action attended. It was incredibly touching and, indeed, the whole visit served to make us grateful for the sacrifices of others who enabled us to enjoy our visit to this green and pleasant place.

Attended a private service in the Chapel, excellent facilities, fantastic grounds and a surprise at every turn....you could spend a lot of time here...

Accessibility was fantastic allowing people of all levels of mobility ease of viewing the park. Nice cafe with indoor and outdoor seating and prices that did not break the bank.

Some staff seemed a little stressed which could be down to it being very busy that day although most seemed to able to remain in good humour.

One member of staff operating the sightseeing train however, thought it was acceptable to berate my wife and I for boarding the train without first buying a ticket...no signs were visible so we didn't know...he demanded we got off, no small feat with a recent double knee replacement...told us off and then demanded that we pay £5 each...something we were willing to do but his attitude put us off....we didn't bother going and neither did our six friend who were following us....the train left a little later with two empty carriages and £40 less takings....

The Arboretum is still a five star place....a pity one of the staff isn't...

Don't think it's only interesting to the a armed forces. Very atmospheric and such beautiful grounds to walk round, well worth a visit.

Very interesting and peaceful place and to see the people who died for us all .I went to find my dads regiment The Welsh Guards ,my dad was injured in the Second World War and lost his arm.We also found my friends dads regiment,there was a service on for the Military Police which was very nice to watch ,We could not go up to the main center has they where putting more names on,I will go back I found it very interesting and peaceful

The Arboretum just keeps growing, memorials to so many to see, a lovely place to walk around on any day. Look out for special events and Regular Royal visits. You will not be disappointed, new visitor centre and restaurant currently underway.

A very special place everyone should visit at least once. You can't help but be moved by the atmosphere especially when reading the names on central monument.

Was a lovely serene place to visit. Free entry just ask for donations and £3 to park the car. There is a bit of a walk from the overspill carpark and would recommend dropping of less mobile people before parking. There was entertainment throughout the day and catered for all ages. There are plenty of places to sit and picnic and catering with ample seating too.

Went here last week for the first time. We found the car park a bit confusing but parked and paid £3 for our ticket and our car was OK when we returned to it so I assume we had parked legally. This may sound a weird way to describe a centre dedicated to people who have died but what a wonderful place to visit It's tranquil and beautiful, and I would add the whole centre is much bigger than we expected you would need a day to walk round it properly I think. The main memorial is undergoing re-furbishment at present but they have a temporary one with all the soldiers names on it, we were told it should be re-opened by Rememberance day in November this year. The land train couldn't run the day we visited due to the amount of rain the day before so we took a buggy ride which was £5 each and worth every penny. The driver/guide told us loads of interesting things that we would probably not have noticed on our own for example at one memorial there are 9 dead trees which are like that to represent soldiers on the first world war battlefield who were wounded but could not be picked up by medics until the battle finished at which point they used to put their arm up towards the sky to show they were alive. The site is huge and we will definitely go back hopefully to spend more than the 2 hours we had and we will probably take a picnic with us and hire mobility scooters as we both have walking difficulties and then we will be able to spend more time at memorials, especially ones that are of special interest to us. We visited the cafe and also the shop which had lots of items for sale which we thought were lovely, many decorated with poppies on them which is extremely appropriate. I would thoroughly recommend a visit but if it's wet or windy go prepared and although free to visit donations are accepted - and I would say well worth every penny you may be able to give.

Attended for a private service at the chapel. Didn't get a chance to have a good look around but looked a wonderful, tranquil, thought provoking place to be. Would love to return to explore in more detail.

There is a big building project underway at the moment and the main memorial is undergoing major maintenance so right now isn't the best of times to visit. When complete the new visitors centre looks impressive.

I've been here three times and the scale of the place is both moving and inspirational. Volunteers are lovely and the cafe sells great cake. Run entirely on donations it's a great place to visit. We combine a visit to Barton Turn Marina nearby.

We live 10 miles from the National Arboretum and having been visiting annually since it was first opened. The trees are now wonderfully established from the bleak open landscape it was at the beginning, but it is still a windy place so be prepared. At the moment the site is undergoing vast changes so the main memorial is closed, but we were told it will all be open for 15th November 2016. Every time we visit new memorials have been added, and they are all so very different. There is a train which takes you round, or you can hire a private golf cart with a guide. If you are fit walking & reading the memorials is better. The catering facilities are ok, but you could take a picnic and sit on the many benches scattered round the Arboretum.

Plenty of monuments & dedicated areas for all who gave everything for us to live, still being rebuilt on my visit but should be finished for late 2016 new café a visitor centre & chapel under construction.

Very interesting to look around. We were there when the scouts were dedicating a memorial and we got to chat to the creator of their memorial and also of the one with lots of colored Perspex which looks very effective when the sun is shining through it
Take you time to look around, some of the memorials are very moving

My wife and I recently visited the National Memorial Arboretum on a very warm sunny Thursday. Car park was £3 which we thought was reasonable. We arrived on our motorbike and parked in the main entrance car park where there is motorbike specific parking (hard ground as opposed to the main/overflow car park that is loose gravel). I thought signage at the main entrance was a little confusing as I thought that only disabled badge holders were allowed in the main entrance but as the gravel car park was not suitable for our bike we ventured to the main entrance and were directed to the motorbike park by staff.

We bought a map of the Arboretum which was a great help to locate the memorials.

We took the Land Train that is a great interest investment and highly recommended as it travels around the grounds and points out the most significant memorials. £5 per passenger with a recorded commentary that also gave some interesting facts about the memorials. The guy taking the money and seating people was a good laugh but was not appreciated by a trio of New Zealanders who were mumbling and moaning under their breaths, we thought he was great!

Once we had returned to the Land Train terminus we then went to explore on foot. This was so much easier having had the benefit of the Land Train experience.

The gardens/arboretum were stunningly kept and we could have spent a lot longer at the arboretum but the hot sun and bike gear reduced our energy levels too far.

One of the most moving memorials was to the soldiers shot at dawn for desertion during WW1. A single statue of a blindfolded young soldier in front of lots of wooden posts that accounted for each soldier shot for 'desertion'. One lad was not even legally old enough to be a soldier having lied about his age when he joined up but was still shot for desertion! Some of the posts had poppies fixed to them from present day family members. Even sadder were the ones that didn't!

We had two visits to the cafe whilst we were there that were both very good experiences. Food was available at very reasonable prices. We had lunch then went back at the end of our visit for cakes and tea. Great!

The centre is helped by volunteers who were all very cheery and helpful. It was very poignant that when we visited the Intelligence Corps were having a memorial/remembrance service and to see the retired Corps members in their suits and proudly displaying their medals alongside the serving regiment members!

Our tip is check the website to see what special events may be on the day of your planned visit.

Well worth a visit and we will return.

I visited yesterday, Father's Day, 19th June. Was greeted on arrival on the coach by a guide who told us the Armed Forces Memorial was closed and that the land train was not running due to flooding on site. I particularly wanted to see the Basra and Bastion Memorials but couldn't get near them due to the flooding. There was extensive flooding on the site and some parts were totally inaccessible.

Maps are £3 to purchase. The guide I asked for directions was friendly and helpful.