5 Reasons to visit HMS Belfast with kids

5 Reasons to visit HMS Belfast with kids – Quite often I find myself walking across London Bridge for work. Each time I do I can’t help but look down the river Thames and marvel at HMS Belfast resting peacefully on the water with Tower Bridge in the distance. It has got to be one of the iconic sights of London. And one which many a tourist tries to capture. Yet for some reason I never thought about taking the boys to visit the floating museum ship.

AD – We were invited to visit HMS Belfast by Imperial War Museums. All words and opinions are my own. We were compensated for our time

In hindsight, I think I had it pegged as an older kids’ activity. Turns out my assumption was wrong. Charlie had a brilliant time exploring the old vessel. And with our upcoming trip to Normandy for the Summer holidays to learn about the D-day landings. It was perfectly timed.

5 reasons to visit HMS Belfast with kids

There is so much to do on board HMS Belfast warship with many of the activities suitable for children aged five and over. With many personal stories of the crew being woven into the exhibits. For me teaching the boys about the conflicts that happened when their grandparents were growing up is so important. To seek to understand what these generations went through so that we don’t have to is a poignant message for future generations.

The family activities we enjoyed were designed in such a way to do just this. Bringing to life how it would have been living and serving on the ship. Part of the national historic fleet, previously owned by the ministry of defence the ship is now a branch of the imperial war museum. The second world war royal navy warship played an important role in the Normandy landings and the end of the second world war.

Take part in the Family D Day Mission

Families that are visiting can take part in a very exciting D Day Mission on the HMS Belfast London. At the entrance, Charlie was given a little bag which included various activities and interactive games he needed to undertake around the ship. It is a great way to make sure you visit all the key areas.

He was introduced to sailor slang, the individuals that would have served on the ship, which job he was mostly likely suited to, what life was like on board and how to predict the right weather for sailing. As well as cracking secret messages and trying out morse code for the first time. Effectively you are guided around the museum by a leather journal which tells you which of the props in the bag to use at which stop. It makes it so much more interactive for children and takes about an hour and a half. If they are anything like Charlie they get distracted by all the other things going on too. So we ended up spending a good four hours on board, much longer than I anticipated.

Turns out Charlie would have probably been an engineer. No surprise there. He particularly enjoyed the morse code activity as well. When we visited there was a sailor who showed us how it worked and explained a little more about why it was used. Even as an adult I learned a lot I hadn’t learnt from school. Then Charlie had the chance to spell out his name in morse code for him to decipher. In the end, he was given a certificate with the morse code alphabet. Definitely, something to show and tell when he returns to school in September.

Explore the boiler and engine rooms

As soon as he realised this was an option Charlie was desperate to go down and explore. The only way down is via steep ladders, the sort you need to go down facing. I think this added to his excitement. You will be pleased to know that it is so well laid out that there is only one way up and one way down. This means as you follow it through you go up and down all over the place.

You get the feeling you are somewhere you shouldn’t really be. There are so many dials, copper pipes and handles it makes you really think about how much knowledge there must have been to run the ship. Seemingly being drawn to engineering Monkey was in his element. The audio guides helped to explain the things we were seeing. There was also a member of staff moving around, offering helpful explanations. One of the things which really struck Monkey was the fact that they managed to condense seawater enough to be able to drink it.

This was the only part of the ship which Kipper was too young to visit. Purely because of the steepness of the ladders. For us, this really wasn’t a problem. There was plenty for Kipper to look around upstairs. It gave Monkey a chance really get to explore areas of a ship he would never ordinarily see and a chance to experience a day out suited to his age group.

Deck and sights of London

I think the London skyline is beautiful. Being on the upper decks of HMS Belfast you got a different perspective of the well-known London buildings. Such as the Gherkin, Shard, Cheese Grater and Walkie Talkie, Tower of London along with the beautiful Tower Bridge. All on the Thames waterline. On board there is a cafe and should the weather of been better we would have sat outside and enjoyed it. However, it was bad weather so we opted to each lunch inside. But that didn’t stop the odd photo opportunity. We headed to the bow of the ship for a Titanic moment before marvelling at the huge anchor and chains. Both boys were fascinated by them. Looking up at the six-inch guns turrets from the deck you realise just how imposing the second world war cruiser is.

Sit in the Captain’s chair

It took us a little while to find but there was no mistaking it. Monkey was quite taken with the idea of being Captain for the day. Looking out the windows towards the Thames river. There is a little navigation room which proved particularly interesting as well as the opportunity to view the captain’s cabin and officers’ quarters. Compared to the Mess deck and lower decks downstairs it left Monkey with no doubt about the role he would have wanted.

In the operation room Monkey got to see radar for the first time. There was also a cool game where you could navigate the ship with your finger. Trying to avoid things that would make you sink. I am not sure he would have made a very good navigator!

Experience the Gun Turret 

You can go in several of the anti-aircraft guns turret, the largest has been turned into an interactive experience. A video is shown every five minutes that explains what it would have been like for a sailor in 1943 during the war. The video documents when HMS Belfast sighted the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst and engaged it during the Battle of North Cape. In the interactive operations room. The whole turret shakes as it fires and smoke effects add to the drama as it unfolds around you. And the ole it played in the sinking of the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst. It really made you think about what the men would be doing and experiencing during the battle.

Our Conclusions – HMS Belfast London

When aboard you can not help but feel humbled by the duties that the ship performed during active service and the stories of people that served. The men that fought and served their country during World War Two and its subsequent missions. It’s an important history lesson that we should all seek to understand and teach. The fact that Imperial War Museums has created an environment where children can do this in a fun interactive way is so important. I would highly recommend a visit to HMS Belfast, it was a very special visit. We will be looking to visit the other four museums that the charity curates shortly so that we can teach Charlie more about our history. Including the Churchill War Rooms, IWM Duxford and the National Maritime Museum.

If you would like to read more about what you can get up to as a family on the historic ship HMS Belfast then you can do so on their Families Page. Have you visited this popular tourist attraction? I would love to hear about your visit in the comments below.

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*The family D Day Mission runs every day apart from Wednesdays and Saturdays between the hours of 10am and 2pm

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