HMS Belfast

A very nice museum with a lot to offer. Due to the ladders and cramped areas big bags and small children are not reccommended. You'll see a lot anyway if you don't go to those sections but if you can't do ladders you are going to be pretty stuffed and not get the best of what the HMS Belfast has to offer.

An old ship needs refurbishing now and then but the current/ongoing refurbishment has made one hell of a mess of the way you get around some of this ship. Routes don't match up to the audio guide and in some areas they have monitors playing videos about the area which has further inaccurate information (although signs do warn you of this). I think you could very easily miss sections out if you didn't work out the proper route in places. I know it might not be easy to do but maybe the audioguide should be changed to take in the layout changes, which don't look that temporary.

You need to do things to keep the ship going as an active museum (which they are doing - the bridge is being totally refurbished and the outside area is having it's paint stripped off) and add new elements/exhibitions and show off how the ship used to look like which they are doing very well indeed.

It has a lot to offer people, the quality/cleanliness and well laid out information are very informative and it will probably take you longer to get round than you think. I took over 2 hours and thats with me missing the 3 exhibitions that were on.

As a 'warning' they are open until 6 but last entry is at 5. You'll never get round properly in an hour so unless you are a IWM Friend (as I am) and can come back for free I'd certainly not leave it that late to visit.

Took my boyfriend to here when we visited London, even through he is serving in the navy they would not give him armed forces discount and would not provide a reason why. Staff rather unhelpful and will definately not be visiting here again

This is an absolute must for anyone with an interest in WWII history, naval history, or history in general.

I took a self-guided tour with an audio guide that was worth every penny. The guide takes you through every major portion of the ship, touching on daily life throughout all decades the ship was in use but focusing on its service during the Second World War. There is a nice mix of personal accounts woven with the underlying historical importance of events. There is also a section on general British naval history.

The staff in particular were very helpful and outgoing. At times it was difficult to tell the difference between them and the tourists!

[As an end note, after the ship hit a mine and was set up for repairs in 1939, a good portion of the ship's crew were transferred... to the HMS Hood.]