The National Memorial Arboretum - Planning Your Visit

Welcome to the National Memorial Arboretum - where the Nation remembers

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Planning Your Visit

Set in 60 hectares of grounds, the Arboretum is filled with interesting and unusual features. A little planning will help you get the best out of your visit.

Location
Opening times & admission charges
Remembrance
Visitor Centre and Shop
Arbour Restaurant
Conference facilities
Chapel
Car & coach parking
Disabled facilities
Dogs
Public conveniences
Group visits
Tours of the site
Ceremonies & wedding receptions
Local accommodation

Dunkirk Memorial at sunset

Location

The address is Croxall Road, Alrewas, Staffordshire DE13 7AR.

The Arboretum is located between Birmingham and Derby, just off the A38 north of Lichfield and south of Burton on Trent. You will see brown signs from the A38 directing you to the A513 junction signposted for Tamworth, where you will find the Arboretum. Click here for a map and directions including bus connections.

Opening hours

The Arboretum is open every day except Christmas Day between 9am and 5pm.

Admission charges

You are welcome to visit the Arboretum free of charge. Donations are welcomed to help us with the maintenance and upkeep of the site. Visitors arriving independently by car should be aware that a parking charge of £2.00 per day applies.

Remembrance

A daily Act of Remembrance takes place in the Millennium Chapel at 11.00am every day of the year incorporating Last Post, silence and Reveille. Seating in the Chapel is limited to 120 and may not be reserved. Occasionally private services take place which will restrict access to our visitors.

For those wishing to pay their own tribute at a memorial, poppy crosses and poppy sprays are available all year round from the Visitor Centre and wreaths may be obtained with two weeks’ notice. In the Long Gallery, there is the facility to light a candle in Remembrance.

Each year Armistice Day is commemorated with a service on the Armed Forces Memorial.

Visitor Centre and Shop

Opposite the car park is the Visitor Centre which includes a shop where gifts, memorabilia and cards can be bought. Brochures giving greater detail about the site and a full map are also available for purchase, as are items of wet weather clothing should conditions become inclement.

A comprehensive guide book in full-colour, is now available from the Visitor Centre for £5.00.

The shop is filled with gift that will delight old and young

Arbour Restaurant

The Arbour Restaurant sells a range of hot and cold drinks and meals at its self-service counter. It is open daily.

Conference facilities

There is a large conference room available with full facilities for talks and presentations. It is available for large groups, schools, coach parties and ex-Service and other organisations. Refreshments can also be served in this room. Please contact Mrs Lynne Barkas on 01283 792333 to book this facility.

Chapel

The Chapel is situated close to the Visitor Centre and is the only place in the country where the Act of Remembrance is observed daily at 11.00am. Chapel seating is limited to 120 and is on a first-come-first-served basis. However, the service is relayed to the surrounding area via a public address system.

Car and coach parking

There is a large designated area for car and coach parking. Visitors arriving independently by car should be aware that a charge of £2.00 per day is payable. Coach Operators should always book their arrival times with the NMA on 01283 792333 to avoid disappointment.

Facilities for people with disabilities

Accessibility - there is level access to the Visitor Centre where disabled toilet facilities are available. There are also firm level paths giving good access to much of the site.

Mobility - for less mobile visitors, wheelchairs and electric scooters are available on loan from visitor centre. To ensure availability they should be booked in advance.

Assistance dogs accompanying their handlers are welcome at this site.

Dogs

The Arboretum is developing a community car park for the use of visitors who have dogs with them and wish to walk them, under close control, along the riverbank and public footpaths. Please check this website for progress with this.

Please keep your dogs on leads and keep strictly to the way marked paths. It is requested that Assistance Dogs only are brought into the more formal areas of the Arboretum (the areas that can be seen from the Visitor Centre).

A rabbit in the grounds of the Arboretum
(photo by Jean Williams)

Please note that the Arboretum is a young site with small trees which means that there is no shade on the main car park and little shade on the community car park.

Public conveniences

Toilets, with facilities for people with disabilities and baby changing, are situated within the Visitor Centre. If nursing mothers would prefer privacy, please ask a member of staff.

Tours of the site

Guided tours of varying length can be arranged for which there is no fixed charge, but donations appreciated. Alternatively, visitors may choose to purchase a self-guide information sheet to explore any of the three established routes, which are of varying length and interest.

The second edition of our comprehensive guide book (£5.00) and detailed site map (£2.50) are available from the Visitor Centre on arrival.

Ceremonies & wedding receptions

The Arboretum aims to offer a comprehensive tailor-made package, and will assist and guide you throughout the planning of the event to ensure that your day is truly special. Please click here for further details.