Group Visits

The Weald & Downland Living Museum – a hidden gem in the South East, quintessentially British in a picture perfect setting. We are a museum for those who want to see, touch and even smell what life was really like for people living in years gone by. Whether you are 5 or 95 there is something for everyone!

Special admission prices for groups of 15 or more

If you are planning a visit to the Museum with a party of 15 or more you can access our discounted group booking rates. Group bookings must be booked in advance in one transaction for the group rates to be applied.

Coach Groups

If you are arriving by coach, you must pre-book your visit to the Museum to guarantee your visit, as we have a limited number of coach bays in our Museum car park. All coaches must be pre-booked to allocate their parking bay for the day of visit.

Please email or phone our group bookings team to check availability and to book your tickets.

Clubs / Society Groups

If you are looking to book a visit for your local group/society of 15 or more people and arriving by bus, please contact us as above. If you are arriving by a mini bus or individual cars, you can pre-book your group visit online here

Please note: We do not host exhibiting car clubs. If you wish to visit as part of a car club and arrive in your vintage/classic cars, these must be parked in our car park. You are booking a group visit to the Museum and not an opportunity to showcase your vehicles within the Museum grounds.

Family / Friend Groups

If you are looking to book a family outing of 15 or more people, you are also welcome to book a group visit. This must be booked in advance in one transaction for the group discount rate to be applied, please book your tickets here

Group rates per person for parties of 15 are as follows:

• £14.00  Adults.
• £12.00 Senior (60+)
• £12.00 Concession*
• £11.00 Student
• £7.00 Children (5-17 years)
• Free Children (4 and under)
• £7.50 Disabled**

* Concession – entry for Blue Light, Defence Services with valid ID

** A disabled ticket admits entry for a disabled visitor and their support carer. The carer gains entry free of charge and therefore is not counted as part of the 15 person minimum required for a group booking

Opening Times

From the 1 March to 3 November the Museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm, and 10am to 4pm for the rest of the year.

Tours

We are able to arrange a private tour of our Downland Gridshell workshop and artefacts store, that houses just some of the 16,000 items that make up our artefacts collection. This is subject to availability and carries an extra charge of £5.00 per person. The tour lasts approximately 45 minutes and are for a maximum of 30 people (artefacts store can accommodate 15 at any one time).

Please note, we do not offer guided tours of the Museum.

Eating and Drinking

Enjoy waterside dining at the Museum’s café, with fantastic views across the mill pond. Our café is open at 10:00 and has seating available inside and outside on our decking area. Please note that the cafe operates on a first come first serve basis, we are not able to reserve seating.

A range of sandwiches, hot food, snacks and cakes alongside hot and cold drinks are available. Last orders for hot food is at 15:00.

Coach Drivers

Group Bookings include free entry for your coach driver and a discount on beverages in the Museum café.

Parking

For groups arriving by coach or minibus, parking will be in our coach bay in the main car park. You must pre-book a space in the coach bay at the time of your booking to ensure we can accommodate you. If your group is travelling separately by car, you will be directed to park either in our main car park or in our field car park depending on the volume of visitors. Disabled parking will be in our main car park at all times.

Accessibility

The Museum is an open air museum. Access around the site is on rural surfaces; mainly rolled or loose chippings, which are in keeping with the nature of the site and buildings. Some paths are cobbled and their surfaces may cause difficulty for visitors who use a wheelchair or have impaired mobility.

Focus Weekends

The Museum is great for groups! If your group’s interests lie in a particular area, we have a wonderful selection of special focus weekends. See our What’s On pages for details.

If you would like to book, please email groupbooking@wealddown.co.uk or call 01243 811363.

The Repair Shop

The BBC’s The Repair Shop is filmed at the Museum. However, please note that it is a closed film set and is not accessible to the public. The set including the outside of the barn is visible from a short distance but there is no public access beyond that point.

Occasionally, the Museum is able to open the Repair Shop Barn to the public on special sneak peak days. You can find more information about future Repair Shop dates by clicking here