If you would like to be informed automatically of ALL FUTURE Ordnance Society visits, then please click on the “Follow the Ordnance Society” button under “FOLLOW THE ORDNANCE SOCIETY BY E-MAIL” in the right-hand column.  This ensures that all “NEWS” items will be e-mailed to you as soon as they appear on the web-site and these will include brief notes about future visits as well as all the other “NEWS” items.

Our Visits Secretary, Neil Grant also organises visits for Friends of the Tank Museum and other groups, so the number and variation of trips has increased considerably. The numbers for a visit will often have a maximum, so please ensure that you use the automatic notification method outlined above in order to apply in good time.

Please note that Ordnance Society reserves the right to refuse any visit applications, particularly where access to or within the visit site are restricted.

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OS & FOTM VISITS 2025

The usual list of our visits and activities for the year are below.  As always, friends and family are welcome on visits. Spaces on some of the events are limited, so if you are interested in attending any of these events, please contact Neil Grant at neilgrant2@yahoo.co.uk

 

There are a couple of events at the bottom of the list which are specialised enough that we will effectively book them to order.  If you are interested in any of these, please let us know, and we’ll sort out a date.

 

JANUARY

RAF Museum Cosford (Friday 24^th January, Nr Wolverhampton, parking charge)

Little brother of the main RAF museum at Hendon, and with a focus on Cold War aircraft and missiles

 

British Museum Exhibition “Silk Roads” (Friday 31^st January, London, £22)

This is the British Museum’s big annual exhibition for 24/25, looking at the famous “silk roads” through central Asia that connected east and west in the early middle ages.  Based on previous exhibitions, assume it’ll take 2-3 hours

 

FEBRUARY

 Flint Knapping & Stone Tool Making (Sunday 9^th Feb, Near Swindon, £80)

A day with an experimental archaeologist, learning the oldest craft in the world – knapping flint to make a variety of prehistoric stone tools that you can take home at the end of the day

 

MARCH

Re-enactors Markets (Sunday 16^th March, £10, near Coventry).  Visits two two separate re-enactment markets, selling clothing, weapons, armour and pottery for re-enactment, LARP of craft activities.  (the market split several years ago, and happen on the same day a few miles apart – make of that what you will.  We’ll spend the morning at one, and the afternoon at the other, though you are welcome just to attend one.  Note that this isn’t the same as the International Living History Fair we did last year)

 

VR combat arena (Thursday 20^th March (evening), Reading, £30)

Put on VR goggles and pick up your gun, and move through a combat area full of VR threats and special effects – zombies, demons, tax inspectors, that sort of thing.  The gear is all wireless, so you can move freely around the environment.  Multiple different game scenarios are available, so we’ll choose depending on what those coming fancy)

 

Vickers Machine Gun Collection (March TBA, Nr Swindon, £30)

A definite must for anyone with an interest in the Great War, this gives us an afternoon of hands-on access to a very extensive collection of…well, pretty much everything to do with these iconic weapons. The visit will include a talk and handling, as well as setting up a Vickers and firing it with blank ammunition.

 

APRIL

Uffington White Horse & Wayland’s Smithy (Sunday 13^th April, Nr Swindon, Free)

A guided walk covering the Uffington White Horse (probably iron age), Uffington Castle hill fort (definitely iron age) and Wayland’s Smithy long barrow (Neolithic). Note that this visit will involve a certain amount of walking.

 

Stonehenge Stone Circle Special Access I (27April, Stonehenge, £20)

This is one of two special stone circle access trips that allows a limited number of people inside the rope barriers around the monument, and into the circle itself.  We get an hour inside the circle for photography etc, and there will be a short, optional talk pointing out some features not normally visible from outside the circle.  Note that this trip is in the early morning before the circle opens to the public and will allow you to visit the exhibition at the visitor centre afterwards, which the evening trip in August won’t.

 

Defence Academy Shrivenham (TBA April, suggested donation)

This includes guided tours of the artillery hall and the armoured vehicle hall at the defence academy, which contain excellent representative collections of British and foreign equipment.  In addition, this is a teaching collection rather than a museum, so we can be rather more “hands on”

 

MAY

 Amber & Bone working workshop (Sunday 4^th May, near Swindon, £80)

Learn about amber jewellery from the neolithic to the Saxon / Viking periods, and make your own piece to take home with you, including learning to make natural fibre cordage to suspend it as a pendant

 

Mail Making workshop, Saturday 10 May, Hampshire, £95

Learn to make authentic Roman or medieval mail (don’t call it chainmail, they get upset) at Butser ancient far

 

VE day 80^th Anniversary at the REME museum (Sunday 11 May, Lyneham, £8)

This includes a tour of the regular REME museum (which holds a number of specialist armoured vehicles and recovery vehicles) but also vehicles from the reserve collection, which is not normally open to the public and guest vehicles owned by private collectors.  There will also be several 1940s re-enactment groups, talks etc.

 

Army Small Arms School (Friday 16^th May, Warminster, suggested donation)

A guided tour around the army’s own gun collection, which contains examples of pretty much every weapon the army has issued, tested or captured since the 1870s.  Even better, it’s a working collection, not a museum, so there will also be a handling session with some of the weapons.

 

Bristol Harbour Cruise & Cream Tea (Sunday 18^th may, Bristol, £30)

A boat tour of historic Bristol harbour, with a cream tea served on the boat.

 

Go-Karting (Thurs 22^nd May (evening) M4 J17, £35)

Exactly what it sounds like, on an indoor track.  Each person gets around 30 minutes’ driving.  Note that prices drop if we get enough people, so it is ideal for a team event

 

Crofton Beam Engines (Monday 26^th May, Wiltshire, £10.75)

A visit to the Victorian static steam engines near Marlborough, which pumped water for the Kennet & Avon canal on their bank holiday event when the engines are in steam.

 

 

JUNE

Vulcan Bomber Experience (Saturday 7th June, Coventry, £15)

A chance to get on board one of the most iconic British cold war aircraft.  We get a walk around the aircraft with the ground crew, who will talk us through how to arm, fuel and maintain the aircraft.  We will then see the aircraft being powered up from ground power, so we can see control surfaces move, open the bomb bay doors etc.  Finally, we get into the cockpit for a talk from former air crew about flying the aircraft operationally.

 

Exotic driving (Weds 18^th June, Leicestershire, £330)

Drive your choice of any three of the following – a tracked BV206 all terrain vehicle, an airport crash tender, an armoured personnel carrier, an army truck or a landrover around an off road course.  Note this is not the same vehicles or same location as the tank driving later in the year.  Note that we can sort out a weekend date for those who can’t do mid-week, but it costs more.

 

Avebury, Silbury & West Kennet (Sunday 22^nd June, Nr Devizes, Free)

A guided tour of these related Neolithic monuments in Wiltshire – the stone circle at Avebury, Silbury Hill and the Neolithic long barrow at West Kennet. Note that this visit will involve a certain amount of walking, and that we may cut it short and skip West Kennet if the weather is bad (probably by being too hot, given the date)

 

JULY

Western-style Carbine shooting (Sunday 20^th July, Birmingham, £40)

A chance to shoot full bore western style lever action carbines at an indoor range in Birmingham.  The session starts on. .22 semi-automatics to teach the basics, before switching to the full bore (.357 & .44) carbines.   Ammunition is included; you will get around 40-50 shots, with a variety of weapons.

 

Axe & Knife Throwing (Saturday 26^th July, nr Bath, £45)

A half-day session learning to throw tomahawks, axes and throwing knives.  No previous experience is necessary, and the session will be tailored to the people attending, so if you want you can concentrate on axes or whatever

 

AUGUST

Stonehenge Stone Circle Special Access II (Saturday 9^th August, Stonehenge, £15)

This is the second of two special stone circle access trip that allows a limited number of people inside the rope barriers around the monument, and into the circle itself.  We get an hour inside the circle for photography etc, and there will be a short, optional talk pointing out some features not normally visible from outside the circle.  Note that this trip is in the early evening after the circle is closed to the public, which may work better for people coming a long way, but means you won’t be able to visit the exhibition at the visitor centre afterwards as you can with the April trip.

 

Dining on a steam train (August TBA, Worcestershire, £65)

A return journey on a preserved steam train (roughly an hour each way) including either a cream tea or a meal – the two happen on different services, hence why we’ll finalise the dates  once we know who is interested).

 

Vintage Bus to Imber Restricted Village (Sunday 17^th August, Warminster, Pay on day)

In 1943, the village of Imber was requisitioned for military training.  The civilian population was never able to return after the war, and the village continued to be used for urban combat training.  As it is in the middle of a restricted military area, it is not normally accessible except for one day a year, when a special service runs trips out to it in vintage red routemaster double decker buses.

 

Silchester Roman Town (Sunday 31 August, Silchester, free)

Silchester is one of the few Roman towns that did not continue as an urban centre into the Saxon and Medieval periods (being essentially replaced by Reading), and now its walls and Amphitheatre stand among fields.  This will involve some walking

 

SEPTEMBER

 Tank Driving Day (Sunday 14th Sept  nr Winchester, £250)

You get to drive four different military vehicles on this half day session – a Chieftain tank, Abbott self-propelled gun, Stormer load carrier and FV432 APC.  No prior experience necessary

 

Fort Nelson (28th September, nr Portsmouth, Parking charge only)

Fort Nelson is one of the Victorian forts built to protect the vital Portsmouth dockyards from the landward side, and now holds the artillery collections of the Royal Armouries – everything from medieval cannon to railway guns.  The event includes tours of both the fort and the collection.

 

OCTOBER

VR combat arena (9^th October, Reading, £30)

Put on VR goggles and pick up your gun, and move through a combat area full of VR threats and special effects – zombies, demons, tax inspectors, that sort of thing.  The gear is all wireless, so you can move freely around the environment.  Multiple different game scenarios are available, so we’ll choose depending on what those coming fancy)

 

Army Small Arms School (Friday 24^th October, Warminster, suggested donation)

A guided tour around the army’s own gun collection, which contains examples of pretty much every weapon the army has issued, tested or captured since the 1870s.  Even better, it’s a working collection, not a museum, so there unless something goes wrong, there will also be a handling session with some of the weapons.

 

NOVEMBER

Indoor Skydiving (9^th  November, Basingstoke, £45)

This basically uses a wind tunnel standing on its end, with fans powerful enough to suspend you in the air as if you are flying. You start by learning to hold a stable position, then you will be shown how to manoeuvre yourself within the air column and even do aerobatic manoeuvres.  The package includes 4 sessions in the tube, each roughly as long as a free-fall from 18,000 feet

 

SPECIAL BOOKED TO ORDER EVENTS

Driving a steam train (September TBA, Worcestershire, £450)

A chance to drive a preserved steam locomotive.  Note that you will be sharing the experience, and that you will be firing the boiler for part of the trip, and driving for the rest, so you will need to be in at least reasonable physical condition to do this.  Longer versions of this experience are also available, giving more time driving.  We will arrange the detailed dates with those booking

 

Three day Sword making course (TBA, £600)

Learn to forge and hilt your own sword, which you take home with you at the end of the course.  Unfortunately, there’s no way to do this in less than three days.  Given the very small numbers of people and the time commitment, the best option is probably to contact us if you are interested, and we can see if we can find a date that works for you

 

Horse Riding on the Beach (TBA, Penzance, £120)

Exactly what it says on the tin – a two hour beach ride.  Hack to the beach along quiet roads, then about 45 minutes on the beach, including a couple of long canters before hacking back to the yard.  You do need to be able to ride for this, though the horses are calm and well schooled.  (Note – we’ll arrange the exact date for this depending on tides, once we know who wants to go and what date work for them)

 

Polo experience day (TBA, Taunton, £165).  This is a full day experience which starts with learning the rules, followed by practice striking the ball with your mallet on a mechanical horse before going on practice those skills mounted on actual polo ponies.

Lunch is included, as is watching an actual polo match during the lunch break.  Note that you do need to be able to ride decently to book for this day.  Given the very small numbers of people and the time commitment, the best option is probably to contact us if you are interested, and we can see if we can find a date that works for you

 

Horse Archery Day (March TBA, Hertfordshire, £199)

It starts with a short ground session teaching the special horse archer’s draw before mounting up and learning to apply the knowledge on horseback.  Note that being able to ride to at least a basic level is a requirement for this session, though at beginner level the targets are in a straight line, and the horses are well trained to run straight.

 

Mounted skill at arms (TBA, Leicestershire, £TBA)

Time to live out your fantasies of being a medieval knight and learn to use a sword (…against ferocious cabbages) and a lance (against a quintain).  Note that you do need to be able to ride decently to book for this day.

 

Side Saddle Day (TBA, Leicestershire, £TBA)

A chance to learn to ride side saddle.  Note that you do need to be able to ride normally to do this.  There is also an upgrade pack with photos and period costume, for those who are interested.

 

PAST ORDNANCE SOCIETY VISITS (Pre-2018)

The relevant Newsletter which contains a description of these visits can be found in the Subject Index under ‘Society Meetings and Visit Reports’

A.W.E. Aldermaston	2015
BAE Systems, Barrow-in-Furness	2001
Birmingham Gun-Barrel Proof House	2007
Boscombe Down	2002
Bovington and Holton Heath	1996
(I) Calais, Todt Battery & V3 Site	1998
(II) Calais, V2 Sites	2000
Day In Essex (Coalhouse Fort and Tilbury Fort)	2002
Dover & Dover Turret	1994
Eskmeals and Kirkcudbright	1997
Fort Amherst & R.E.M.E. Museum, Chatham	2009
Fort Halstead	1992
Fort Nelson, Portsmouth	2003
Helicopter Museum, Weston Super Mare	2017
Kineton, B.O.D.	1993
Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Museum	2016
Mary Rose, Behind the Scenes, Portsmouth	2015
Naval Ordnance Museum, Priddy’s Hard (now ‘EXPLOSION‘)	1991
Ordnance Disposal School & Museum, Chattenden	1990
P & EE, Lavington	1994
P & EE, Pendine	1994
Pattern Room, Nottingham	1991
(I) P.E.E. Shoeburyness	1990
(II) P.E.E. Shoeburyness	1992
Portsmouth Dockyard	1995
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst	2016
(I) Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham	1991
(II) Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham	1992
(III) Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham	1996
Rotunda, Museum of Artillery	1989
Thames Forts boat trip	1998
Waltham Abbey, Royal Gunpowder Mills	1999
Warminster and Larkhill	1992
Warminster Small Arms School Corps Weapons Collection	2008
Western Rifle Shooting	2017
Whale Island, Portsmouth	2003
Whitechapel Bell Foundry	2017
Woolwich Experience, Arsenal, Rotunda, RA Barracks, RA Academy	1999