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WW2 History School Trips, UK

The UK has a wealth of museums and sites to help bring your World War Two history lessons to life. Take a look at our most popular WW2 history day trips and viits where students can explore the Dunkirk evacuations, D-Day Landings, Military Code Breaiking, Battle of Britain, the Holocaust, the Blitz and more.

Overview

Go back in time with a WW2 School Trip in the UK

We take 100’s of groups to the Normandy landing beaches each year but we can also create a vivid World War Two history trip for your group in the UK. Using our expertise, we've picked fascinating sites in the UK that offer students the chance to explore World War Two topics in more depth and bring their history studies to life.

There is a wealth of WW2 historical sites and vists on your doorstep - see where troops prepared for the Normandy landings in the West Country, hear about the pioneering code breakers of Bletchley Park, visit the underground Battle of Britain operations room in West London or experience life in the Blitz in Kent, the UK has a rich source of history learning experiences.

History Teachers might also be interested in our other British history trip ideas and UK trips for classes studying the Great War.

Let us design you a learning packed-day trip or create a WW2 history tour as an alternative to a tour of France or as a valuable warm up to your trip abroad.

When organising a day trip it is essential that your coach is punctual and reliable. Voyager School Travel owns a specialist coach company called Pegasus Coaches, and wherever possible our school groups are transported by Pegasus coach, driven by our own professional driver, so you can be sure of a safe and reliable service. With expertly designed itineraries, free planning visits, door to door coach transport and the financial security of an ABTA backed service we will help you create a unique and memorable learning experience for your class.

Excursions

Explore World War Two with these day trip ideas

When organising a day trip it is essential that your coach is punctual and reliable and that's why, wherever possible, all our day trips include transport with Pegasus Coaches, our very own specialist school coach company. With expertly designed itineraries, free planning visits, door to door coach transport and the financial security of an ABTA backed service we will help you create a unique and memorable learning experience for your class.

bletchley park
Crack the Code at Bletchley Park
raf uxbridge bunker
Direct the Battle of Britain from an underground operations room, London
D Day from the boat
See where US troops prepared for D-Day, North Devon
D Day from the boat
The secret tragedy behind Devon's D-Day training beaches, South Devon
ramsgate tunnel
Explore a WW2 underground city - Ramsgate Tunnels, Kent
auschwitz holocaust suitcase
Holocaust Exhibition & Learning Centre, Huddersfield
auschwitz holocaust suitcase
National Holocaust Centre & Museum, Nottinghamshire
bletchley park

Crack the Code at Bletchley Park

Visit the top secret centre of Allied code-breaking during the WW2 and the birthplace of modern technology where students explore the mansion, museums and famous huts which housed the dedicated code breakers who cracked Enigma and other ciphers. Hear the tales of spies and strategic deception and the major events of WW2 from an enthusiastic learning guide. Highlights include the rare Enigma Machine Abwehr G312, seeing the world’s first modern computer, Colossus, in action and learning about Alan Turing, the father of computing and AI.

raf uxbridge bunker

© Andrew Curtis and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Direct the Battle of Britain from an underground operations room, London

The underground operations room, where the Battle of Britain was controlled, has been preserved just as Churchill saw it in 1940. Since then, the secret bunker has featured in many films about WW2 and is now the centrepiece of a modern interactive museum where students will hear personal accounts of homeland defence, from the spotters on land, the fighter pilots in the air and the women working in the bunker to plot and chart the RAF’s progress

D Day from the boat

© Herman V. Wall, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

See where US troops prepared for D-Day, North Devon

Troops were stationed in Devon to prepare for the D-Day landings. The coastline between Northam Burrows and Woolacombe closely resembled the Normandy beaches making it a perfect practice ground to rehearse the beach invasions. Students can uncover the legacy of the US Army activities during World War II including practise pillboxes, replica landing craft made of concrete and blast walls scarred with bullet holes hidden among the dunes.

D Day from the boat

© Herman V. Wall, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The secret tragedy behind Devon's D-Day training beaches, South Devon

Exercise Tiger was a large scale training operation where US troops rehearsed their amphibious landings on Slapton Sands in readiness for the D-day landings on Utah Beach. But the exercise ended in disaster with the tragic loss of 749 American servicemen and almost delaying the D-day landing operation. Your students will visit the memorial and hear the story of Exercise Tiger which was under the strictest secrecy at the time and hardly reported afterwards.

ramsgate tunnel

© https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedandjen/

Explore a WW2 underground city - Ramsgate Tunnels, Kent

Take your students step back in time to unlock the story of a hidden underground city which was home to thousands of Ramsgate citizens during WW2. After the town’s devastation by aerial bombing in 1940, over 300 families took up residence in the tunnels living permanently in the underground city. In addition to guided tours of the tunnels, school groups can visit the museum to see displays showing the town’s part in WW2, through the construction and use of the Tunnels, to their eventual closure, dereliction and re-opening as well as a collection of Home Front memorabilia.

auschwitz holocaust suitcase

© Dimitris Vetsikas

Holocaust Exhibition & Learning Centre, Huddersfield

The Centre uses stories to help students understand the world and Through Our Eyes is an interactive, multi-media exhibition about 16 young people who survived Nazi persecution across Europe in the 1930s and came to the north of England as refugees and survivors. The Centre also offers interactive learning sessions where students engage with objects, images and documents to help understand Holocaust themes as well as powerful survivor talks for school groups,

auschwitz holocaust suitcase

© Dimitris Vetsikas

National Holocaust Centre & Museum, Nottinghamshire

Beth Shalom, also named the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, is a well thought out and sensitive Holocaust museum and memorial. Using fascinating artefacts and interactive displays, your students will learn about the Holocaust through the story of a young Jewish boy living in Berlin under the Nazi regime. Set in tranquil grounds, the thought-provoking museum provides specialist educational programmes for both primary and secondary school students.

Included

All our UK school day trip packages include:

  • A detailed itinerary with pre-booked excursions
  • Door to door transport on a Voyager-owned Pegasus coach (subject to availability)
  • Free teacher place for every 8 students on the trip
  • Dedicated person to support you before, during and after your trip
  • 24-hour emergency back-up – we won’t leave you stranded
  • No quibble cancellation policy – full refund if we have to cancel your trip
  • The security of an ABTA-backed financial guarantee
  • Comprehensive travel insurance
  • Assistance with inspection visits

Voyager School Travel owns a specialist coach company called Pegasus Coaches, and wherever possible our school groups are transported by Pegasus coach, driven by our own professional driver, so you can be sure of a safe and reliable service.

Benefits for schools

The benefits of using Voyager to organise your day trip

One stop shop – from transport to excursions we take care of every detail. We make it easier to organise a day trip with just one point of contact, a single invoice and help with risk assessments, leaving you more time to deal with students and parents.

Get the most from a short trip – as educational travel specialists we have the expertise to recommend an inspirational day trip which is packed full of learning. You’ll be surprised by what can be achieved in just one day. 

Travel safely – we are one of the only school travel companies with our own specialist school coach company which means you benefit from preferential rates, door to door service and drivers who are experienced in looking after school groups (indeed other school travel companies use our coaches too!).

We’ve got your back – book your trip as a package so if you encounter a problem you can rely on our experienced team to sort it out. And with our own coach fleet, we can guarantee that we’ll never leave you stranded.

Peace of mind if plans change – if we have to cancel your trip because of COVID or any other reason, your group is eligible for a full no-quibble refund.

Financial protection - by booking your day trip as a package with us, your trip is completely protected by the ABTA financial guarantee.

Hellenthal Eifel student love cropped

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