Happy Roald Dahl Story Day! Today we visited The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in the village of Great Missenden. Just to clarify this is not the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery which is part of the Bucks County Museum in the historic market town of Aylesbury! I am aware these are often confused.
My husband and I grew up reading Roald Dahl’s books, so when we heard it was reopening a few days before Roald Dahl Day, it was a no brainer. Furthermore, The Roald Dahl under 5s collection, ‘Titchy Toddlers’ had been recently released, and we love these books for our boys.
Every visit to the Museum is now an exclusive family/ bubble guided tour. It is 1 hr 15 mins to ensure we can all explore safely. So, it was 4 of us on our tour. If I’m honest it wasn’t too bad, feels more like a VIP experience if I’m honest. You can book up to 10 in each group, which was surprising given this new rule of six- which I guess must not be applicable here.
There are three galleries;
- ‘Boy’ and ‘Solo’ and both biographical galleries where we found out about real-life instances that shaped Roald’s life and writings. We found out about the wild tricks he used to play on his sisters and shopkeepers, the truth behind his plane accident, elements in his life which we see in his stories and even get to see the Writing Hut, where all his ideas came to life- just the way he left it.
- The last gallery was the Story Centre- I think this was the boy’s favourite. Here we were able to listen to stories from Roald’s original drafts and also see his Writing Hut in action. It is aesthetically pleasing and encourages your imagination to run wild.
Unfortunately, all the hands-on interactive elements are inactive due to COVID.
We also got to go upstairs, to unveil some archives that would usually not be made available to public visits, which was a nice little extra.
It is important to note the FAQs on the Museum page state that the guided visit is for ‘everyone’. In my opinion; the guided tours are geared to ages 6+. As I mentioned above, Roald Dahl does indeed have a collection for under 5s, however, none of these is included in the gallery exhibitions, and nothing has been formed to stimulate or engage under 5s. I think avid Roald Dahl fans and those within reading and writing ages who have read Roald Dahl’s historical novels would enjoy the Museum thoroughly.
Before COVID, the Museum used to run their Friday Chiddlers’ Hour sessions, for three months – 3-year olds. This featured songs, craft and play based on storytelling from one of Roald Dahl’s novels. Hopefully, they can bring this back soon to cater to under 5s.
As we got to the end of our tour, they kindly gave us each an activity pack to take home since you can no longer do these activities on site.
Overall it was a fantastic nostalgic day for my husband and me, more than it was an activity/ day out geared to our two boys- ah well!
The important bits
Where is it?
Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, England
When is it open?
Thu – Sun, 10 am – 4 pm
How much is it?
Adults £7.40
Children (5 – 18) £4.90
Under 5s Free
Concessions £4.90 (Concessions are for students, people aged 60 or over or for those with disabilities)
Accompanying carers Free
Who is it suitable for?
Ages 6+
How long is it?
1 hour 15 minutes
Other information
- Baby Changing Facilities available
- When you book your visit, you have the option to book a picnic box that will be ready to pick when your tour ends. These cost £8 for adults and £6 for children. You can also pop into the Cafe to order takeaway hot and cold drinks. You can even BYO picnics which can be eaten in the courtyard
- Pay and Display Parking (Mon – Sat) at Link Road Car Park, Great Missenden HP16 9AE up to 2 hours is £1.40. Sundays and Bank Holidays are FREE
- Pushchair friendly
Would we come back?
Yes when the boys are older or if they brought back their Friday Chiddlers’ Hour sessions.
Other Things to do Nearby
Angling Spring Wood, Great Missenden 2 mins
Milton’s Cottage, Chalfont St Giles 15 mins
Bekonscot Model Village and Railway, Beaconsfield 17 mins
Go Ape, Wendover Woods 18 mins
Roald Dahl’s Children’s Gallery at Buckinghamshire County Museum, Aylesbury 18 mins [reopens 29-31 October]
Odds Farm Park, Wooburn Common 21 mins
Whipsnade Zoo, Dunstable 31 mins
The River & Rowing Museum, Henley 37 mins
Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury, 37 mins
Natural History Museum, Tring 51 mins
We visited on Saturday 12 September 2020; the above information is correct as of that date.