Improved visitor experience as Cranwell Aviation Heritage Museum reopens this Easter

The museum, run by North Kesteven District Council, first opened to the public in 1992, temporarily closed for three months in December last year for a significant programme of essential repair and maintenance.

This included upgrades across the site to ensure the space is more functional, welcoming and suited to modern visitor expectations.

It will reopen its doors at 10am on April 3 and the award-winning museum will be open 10am-3pm, Friday to Monday.

The shop and café have been refreshed to create a more inviting environment for visitors to relax, browse and enjoy their time at the museum. The venue will also beoffering immersive ways to experience aviation through virtual reality.

Alongside the redevelopment, the North Kesteven Airfield Trail has been refreshed to help visitors explore the district’s aviation heritage in a single route that can be enjoyed in a day or as part of a longer visit.

The trail links together a network of active RAF stations and former airfield sites across the district, reflecting the county’s role as the home of Bomber Command during the World Wars.

To support the museum’s refreshed offer, two enthusiastic new members of staff have joined the team after the recent retirement of long-serving and valuable colleagues.

Councillor Richard Wright, Leader of NKDC, said: “As an RAF veteran myself, the Cranwell museum is a personal favourite of mine.

“Despite its small size, it’s a giant in terms of its collection of interesting artefacts, its interactive hands-on experiences and fascinating changing exhibitions that are skilfully curated so that everyone can connect with the RAF story, whatever their age. The new virtual reality experience will offer an additional immersive way to explore the aviation, and I can’t wait to visit the site when it reopens.”

It has held Accredited Museum status since 2016, and staff and volunteers have been carefully reviewing objects, enhancing collections care, and improving storage and interpretation. A volunteer team from RAF Cranwell are also in the process of restoring the Jet Provost exhibit to preserve it for future generations.