Launton Historical Society reporting on a visit to Bletchley Park

It was hot, of course, for our trip to Bletchley Park. Our tour guide wore a suit and lace up shoes, I don’t know how he managed it. We arrived, in our car shares, to find the parking mercifully close to the reception and the café which was our meeting point. Very atmospheric, the café. Definite 1940s wartime vibe and tasty lunchtime snacks.

Off we went along the side of the lake to the chauffeur’s hut where we met our besuited walking tour guide. An expert in all things Bletchley Park, he showed us the main buildings, including the mansion house where we peered in to see an elegantly laid afternoon tea and the cottages where eminent codebreakers lived. The jokes were quite corny (What’s the significance of this clock? It stopped at exactly the time it’s showing now) but the information was good, and he was very cheerful despite the heat. There were lots of people about and multiple tour guides on the go at any one time.

After the tour, we explored the site in our own time and for my own part after an hour of walking, I investigated the benches. Sitting next to the drinks and ice cream hut, I enjoyed a good chat with Mary B and we both remarked that the mansion opposite us reminded us of the one in Garth Park (see the header photo).

An opportunity to sit down out of the heat presented itself in the form of an impressive film about the impact of Bletchley Park’s work on the D Day landings. Others looked at the hut housing Alan Turing’s office with his chair and mug (have these really lasted since the early 1950s? I think not!). This hut led to others with lots of interactive displays which were gripping, I’m told, but by that time I was sitting on another bench by the lake. Then back to the café and shop to buy a few gifts perhaps and reconnect with our car shares.

All in all, there was something for everyone. Lots of greenery, a lake and benches, lots to see. Some walking was needed, but you could tailor it to suit yourself. Also, your individual ticket lasts for a year, so there’s no pressure to see it all in one go. Clearly, I need to go again and see a bit more when there’s not a heatwave.

By the time you see this we will have had our summer social, and we will then be reconvening on 25 September at 7:30pm in the Parish Hall to hear Dick Richards talk about the work of The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. You would be welcome to join us.

There are some photos from our visit to Bletchley in the header to this article and below.

Gwen Skinner

The Launton Historical Society visits Bletchley Park

See above for a report of the fascinating visit at the end of July. The picture in the header shows the walking tour guide in front of the Bletchley mansion ‘... looks a lot like The Garth building in the Park in Bicester’, and (below) the group at the main lake in front of the Mansion lawns.