Bawdsey Radar
With a National Art Pass you get
On the Suffolk coast, Bawdsey Radar is a museum showcasing the birthplace of modern radar, crucial for WWII defence.
The concrete transmitter block at Bawdsey Manor was built in the late 1930s to give Robert Watson-Watt and Arnold Wilkins a place to research and develop what is now commonly known as radar (Radio Detection and Ranging). Having closed down in the 1990s, with the transmitter towers being removed on 2000, the site has now been transformed into a museum celebrating the technology that was pioneered there during the Second World War.
Visitor experience
Interactive exhibits tell the story of radar from its origin as a hugely important defence tool against enemy aircraft, to the modern day, showing how the technology paved the way for modern inventions including GPS and even the microwave oven. You can also listen to oral histories of people who worked at RAF Bawdsey, many of whom were members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF).
Well worth a visit, espescially for World War II enthusiasts, the museum's exhibits and activities earnt Bawdsey Radar the Suffolk Small Museum of the Year Award in 2019.
Visitor information
Address
Bawdsey Radar, Bawdsey, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 3BA
07821 162879
Opening times
Apr - Oct Thursdays, Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays 11am - 4pm. Last admission 3pm.
Exclusions and safety measures
Online ticket booking available. Card Payment encouraged.
Visitor information
The more you see, the more we do.
The National Art Pass lets you enjoy free entry to hundreds of museums, galleries and historic places across the UK, while raising money to support them.