Werewolf strikes on London again! (Imperial War Museum (London))

Member Name: werewolf2

Product:	Imperial War Museum (London)
Date:	22/02/06 (212 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see review

Disadvantages: see review

NAME OF LOCATION: Imperial War Museum, London

BACKGROUND
Robert, my boyfriend, and I enjoy visiting places of interest and this was on our “wish list”. We visited on a cold but dry November day in 2005.

Occupying the former Bethlehem Hospital for the Insane (Bedlam), there are fascinating displays about war, including a reconstructed air raid shelter, blitzed street and WW1 trench.

ATTRACTIONS
There are four floors – we chose to start at the top and work our way down.

Floor 4 Crimes against humanity (not recommended for children under 16)
Robert chose not to go in here because he saw a quick clip from outside and was put off. I am glad we didn’t go in too. Can’t comment on this floor.

Floor 3 The Holocaust exhibition (not recommended for children under 14)
Robert also chose not to go in here because of the subject matter and was put off. I am glad we didn’t go in too. Can’t comment on this floor.

Floor 2 Art galleries and Temporary Exhibitions
This held the Lawrence of Arabia audio tour which you needed to pay for on the ground floor. As we were both interested in this exhibition, Robert and I went to ground floor and paid for the Audio tour. I spent ages in here and when I came out, Robert had gone on to other items of interest. I quickly visited all the art galleries on this floor expecting to find Robert. They were good paintings but a little bland and not very child friendly (there were no interactive displays to explain things or hold their (or mine) interest).

Floor 1 Victoria Cross and George Cross gallery, Secret War, Survival at Sea and large exhibits

I had a quick look round this whilst looking for Robert (especially the Secret War) as this seemed to be the most likely place for him to be – he loves James Bond and anything like that! I found this area to be much more interesting than the 2nd floor had been. It explained why things had happened, etc.

Ground Floor The Children’s War, Great Escapes, Large Exhibits Gallery, Cinema, Reception, Information desk/audio guides and café/shops.

See special attractions for the first two items listed.

The large exhibits gallery includes a London bus, tanks, V2 bombs, etc – be careful in this area. Robert was reading his audio guidebook for the 2nd floor exhibition and hit his head on a gun protruding from one of these exhibits.

These have interactive displays and some you can examine in more detail – children especially can get inside some of them.

Lower Ground Floor 1st World War, 2nd World War, Conflicts since 1945, D-Day, Monty: Master of the Battlefield, Trench Experience and Blitz Experience

The toilets are also on this floor.

The trench experience is near the Gents Toilets and was very interesting. I went in there alone as I hadn’t found Robert when I found it.

Although I explored this floor only briefly I found it very intriguing and wished that I had done it in more depth. However, I was wanting a break and trying to find Robert to suggest a coffee stop. I did not find the Blitz Experience or the 1940’s house which I believe should have been on this floor too.

Special Attractions
1. Lawrence of Arabia (the life, the legend) – an audio miscellany. An audio tour of pictures, photographs and memorabilia of T E Lawrenc -this was on the 2nd floor of the building and cost £7 per adult to enter (Children/Concessions were cheaper). It was (for me) the most interesting part of the War Museum. Robert is more interested in war history than I am but this included much more – it was the life story of T E Lawrence. On until 17 April 2006.
2. The Children’s War (from 18 Mar 2005) Admission free (School groups) – this exhibition was to mark the 60th anniversary of the Second World War by looking at the conflict through the eyes of British children, especially evacuees. I only saw part of this as I was busy looking for Robert, who I lost at least twice, once when I came out of the Lawrence of Arabia exhibition. This was on the ground floor
3. Great Escapes – a look at escape attempts made by Allied Prisoners of War during 2nd World War. Adults £6, concessions £5, Children Free. Groups of 10+ £4 each but booking essential. We did not see this because we chose to see the Lawrence of Arabia exhibition instead and didn’t have time to do both.

TRANSPORT
Short walk from either Lambeth North, Waterloo or Elephant & Castle tube stations. Well signposted from the Waterloo station by brown signposts.

PRICE
Free to enter museum but attractions (see above) may charge entry fees.

Had a snack (muffin for Robert, flapjack for me and 2 drinks for £5.30 in the clean café on site which stated that every purchase benefited the museum.

OPENING HOURS
Open daily 10am to 6pm with the exception of 24-26 December.

GOOD POINTS
1. Plenty to see
2. Free entry

BAD POINTS
1. Not enough time to see it all in one day
2. Expensive to go into all the exhibitions
3. Bag search on entry

AFTERWARDS
We are deciding what next to “knock” off our wish list in London. On this occasion we went to the Thames to see the Fireworks display on the Millennium bridge.

MORE INFORMATION FROM
Imperial War museum enquiries 020 7416 5320 www.iwm.org.uk Imperial War Museum. Lambeth Road, LONDON SE1 6HZ

There are other branches of the IWM namely
1. Churchill Museum/Cabinet War rooms which I would heartily recommend: Westminster, St James Park 0207 9306961
2. HMS Belfast (another place I would recommend), moored in the Thames opposite the Tower of London – London Bridge, Tower Hill 0207 4906300
3. IWM Duxford (which I haven’t visited) nr jnc 10 M11 (8 miles south of Cambridge)
4. IWM North Trafford Park, Manchester (which I haven’t visited) 0161 8779240

Useful website: www.londontown.com




werewolf2

Summary: Great free entry museum in London - a must see