Visit Aerospace Bristol: ‘The Best Museum for Groups’

Conveniently located to the north of Bristol, just five minutes off the M5 (junctions 16 and 17), Aerospace Bristol is set across three aircraft hangars on the historic Filton airfield, where every British Concorde made its maiden flight.

The journey begins in a Grade II listed World War One aircraft hangar, with aeroplanes, engines, helicopters, missiles and even space technologies on display. There is more than a century of aviation achievements to explore, from the earliest days of powered flight, through two World Wars, the drama and technological advancement of the Cold War and the Space Race, and on to the modern aerospace industry.

Visitors then make their way to the Concorde Hangar, where you can watch a stunning audio-visual show projected on to the side of Concorde’s iconic nose. Then for something very special as you step aboard the supersonic passenger jet itself, glimpsing inside the remarkably complex cockpit, and exploring the passenger cabin - where VIP travellers would sip champagne at 1,350mph. If walls could talk….

The third and final hangar you can visit is the Conservation Workshop. Opened in summer 2021 and situated in a restored Grade II listed aircraft hangar that was built around 1915, the Conservation Workshop gives visitors the chance to meet volunteers and learn about their conservation and restoration efforts, as they work to carefully preserve and restore historic aircraft.

3 informative and exclusive tours

Aerospace Bristol offers three guided tours available exclusively to groups: The Heritage Tour, The Concorde Tour and The Conservation Tour.

On the Heritage Tour, groups can take off on a journey through more than 100 years of Bristol’s remarkable aerospace history. This is the option for those who want to find out how a small, pioneering company manufactured some of the earliest aeroplanes at Filton, evolved over the decades to influence the course of aviation history, and shaped the world we see today. 

As you’d expect, The Concorde Tour focusses on the legendary aircraft that could once carry passengers from New York to London in under three hours, and has groups learning about the plane just across the runway from where all British Concordes were built. As you walk around the last Concorde to be built and the last to fly, guides can take groups on a journey all the way from its beginnings in the 1950s to its retirement in 2003, including the social history of those who flew and worked on this ground breaking aeroplane.

The final option, The Conservation Tour, focuses on three remarkable conservation projects; restoring a Type 170 Bristol Freighter, a World War One Bristol Fighter to complement the replica on display in the museum galleries, and the attraction’s ongoing Bristol Bolingbroke restoration project. 

Welcoming for groups, easy for coaches

The award-winning museum is ideally set up for coaches. In addition to an easily accessible location just off the M5 and ample free coach parking on-site, Aerospace Bristol offers discounted rates for groups of 15 or more (saving over 20%), free entry for the group leader and coach driver, and a free hot drink for the coach driver too.