Venturing out to Chiltern Open Air Museum

Now that restrictions are being relaxed and some of our favourite places have opened again, we are starting to venture out a little more. Chiltern Open Air Museum is somewhere we always enjoy exploring and was the perfect place for our first trip out together. Sophie, Thomas and I enjoyed an afternoon out during the week and then Daddy joined us on another trip a few days later – our first family day out since our Torquay beach trip over five months ago.

 

 

We booked our tickets online and selected our entrance time. Once inside though, we could stay as long as we wanted.

 

 

The museum buildings are closed at the moment but there is plenty of outdoor space to explore and farm animals to see. I thought Sophie would be disappointed not to be able to visit her favourite spot in the museum – the children’s bedroom in the Amersham pre-fab where she always loves playing with the old-fashioned toys – but she was okay with it.

 

 

Although you can’t go inside the buildings at the moment, most of them had the doors open with a gate across so you could still see inside. There was a one-way system in place around the Amersham prefab to go through the ‘Dig for Victory’ allotment and plenty of hand santiser points around the museum. The area around the Amersham prefab, allotment and Nissen huts was the busiest area of the museum when we visited, although there was plenty of room to allow for social distancing.

 

 

Sophie loved the family of scarecrows in the allotment and looking at the different types of vegetables growing there.

 

 

The café is currently closed but you can buy drinks and snacks at the kiosk on the village green. There are plenty of benches and space around the village green for picnics.

 

 

We stopped at the Harpenden Well Head to drop a coin into the well and hear the voices of the well spirits.

 

 

We usually walk down to the toll house via the playground. Although the playground is currently open, I wasn’t sure how busy it would be. Sophie is old enough to understand that we might not be able to go to the playground if it is too busy. Thomas gets quite upset though if he sees a playground and can’t play there. Thankfully, unlike Sophie, he hasn’t yet memorised the layout of the museum, so we were able to bypass the playground and head to the farm instead. He was quite happy there and loved seeing the goats.

 

 

The woods are my favourite area in the museum; it’s so quiet and peaceful there. The woodland walk isn’t buggy-friendly but we enjoyed a walk on the outskirts of the woods around the Arborfield Barn and the Iron Age House.

 

 

It was lovely to watch Sophie and Thomas walking hand-in-hand together. Sophie is so protective over him, encouraging him on and helping him over the uneven ground. Watching them reminded me of watching my girls together. Sophie would often encourage Jessica on when Jessica got tired. She loved our days out at Chiltern Open Air Museum. There are so many memories of her everywhere we go. I can just imagine what it would have been like with the three of them here; Thomas with a big sister each side of him, the three of them walking hand-in-hand together.

 

 

Days out like this are always bittersweet, but it was good to be able to venture out again and visit one of our favourite places. I am sure we will be return several times over the summer holidays!

 

 

Visiting Chiltern Open Air Museum – what you need to know:

Address:

Chiltern Open Air Museum
Newland Park
Gorelands Lane
Chalfont St Giles
Buckinghamshire
HP8 4AB

 

Opening times:

The museum is currently open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am. Entry at the current time is by pre-booked timed ticket with last entry at 3pm. Tickets cost £5 for grounds admission.

 

Opening times and ticket prices are correct at the time of posting. For the latest opening times, ticket prices and to find more information or book tickets, please visit the museum website here.