Today was Alex's day. He has a keen interest in military history and so during his time here in England he wanted to visit the largest collection of tanks in one place in the entire world. It's known as the Bovington Tank Museum by those outside of the U.K. and for the locals it is just "The Tank Museum," somewhat like "The Open" (golfers will understand, so apologies for non-golfers).
Getting here without a car is not the easiest thing to do, but it is accessible by train from Portsmouth, so that was the plan. However, this being Sunday (and those who have been following our blog will know this already), it is the day of either cancellations, replacement bus services due to railworks ... or both.
The weather was going to be quite nice with overcast but bright conditions, no wind and no rain, temperature highs of 8 to 9 degrees C. Our trip there would require a train from Cosham to Eastleigh, a bus connection to Bournmouth and a train to the village of Wool in the County of Dorset. Upon arrival at Wool we had a one-mile walk slightly uphill to the museum. But what are we if not determined!
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| Quite the size |
For Alex, the main attraction was their collection of world war II tanks including German Tiger tanks and Russian T-series tanks.
While I thought I had some understanding of tank types and history, Alex has a phenomenal understanding. He does admit that it has something to do with his involvement with a multi-player video game known as World of Tanks. |
| Alex and his Tiger |
The number and variety of tanks and armoured vehicles is staggering. As this was the winter period, the museum was not too busy, although still reasonably well attended, and so we could enjoy each of the exhibits including the main one which takes you through a timeline of tank history from their invention through to today. Of course the most interesting elements were related to the two world wars. Rommel, Montgomery, Patton and other great tank commanders are highlighted. There are even Canadian-made tanks (the RAM) to be seen.
For me, a very interesting display addressed T.E. Lawrence, better known as "Lawrence of Arabia" who retired to a village next to Bovington and who was killed at the age of 47 in a motorcycle accident on a nearby road (he is now buried in the village of Moreton -- not to be confused with our Moreton in Marsh -- which is about 2 miles from the museum (a trip and a blog post for another day when we can travel here again).
Outside of the museum is a tank training exhibit all decked out to allow for viewing of these historic tanks in action. However, as this was their low season, they don't provide outside demonstrations (they're reserved for the May to September season). Certainly pictures of these activities would suggest that things are very busy during those moths, although I must admit the ability to ride a tracked-vehicle for about a dozen people around the test track, with its bumps and trenches, for an additional fee would be quite fun.
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| Alex and I with captured Chinese-made, Russian designed tank used by Iraq in Gulf War. |
We spent 4 hours at the museum including lunch, and they were hours well spent. By the time we were done, including some time to go to the shop as Alex had his eyes on some of the scale models, it was getting dark. A downhill walk through the Dorset countryside back to the rail station was refreshing and the weather was holding up with some patches of late day sun. The trip back to Portsmouth was longer though as the connections between trains and buses were much longer. All in all though it was a delightful day.
Ale of the Day: Tetley's Bitter, Leeds, West Yorkshire
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