Top tourist attractions in Cornwall on TripAdvisor: Aviation Heritage Centre

What you might not expect is to have a museum with a specialist focus run by volunteers on a patch of the airfield at RAF St Mawgan.

But Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre is consistently one of the top performing tourist attractions on Tripadvisor and last year was given a Travellers’ Choice Award placing it in the top 10% of all things to do on the website.

Ahead of their reopening for the new season later this month we paid a visit to find out more about this unique attraction and the story behind it.

When you spend time with heritage centre director Richard Spencer-Breeze it is impossible to not be taken up in his childlike enthusiasm for the museum which is combined with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the magnificent flying machines.

As he walks us around the many historic aircraft he tells us about their history as well as the stories which led to them being at this Newquay centre.

“We are the only aviation museum in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. It is very, very important that we are here. We are also unusual in that we allow people not just to see our aircraft but they can get in them as well. They are open all day long and you can just get into them.

“Normally the last thing museums want you to do is touch their aircraft but that is what we are all about.”

It is details like this which sets the aviation heritage centre apart from some museums – whilst they are keen to restore and protect their assets they also want to share their love for them with visitors.

Aided by a squadron of volunteers the centre is always adding to its collection and as Richard shows us around it is clear that many of the aircraft also have a link to Cornwall.

Richard Spencer-Breeze, director of the Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre (Image: Richard Whitehouse/LDRS)

And the museum is currently preparing for what Richard says could be their most exciting exhibit yet – one of two remaining Nimrod aircraft which are actually operational.

The XV232 is a BAE Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol aircraft and is one of just two left in the world which are in fully-functional condition – this means that whilst all systems operate it is not certified to fly.

This historic asset is currently based in Coventry but is hoped to come to Cornwall in 2023 as its current home is being used for a gigafactory.

It will be a homecoming of sorts for the Nimrod, which was only based at RAF St Mawgan and RAF Kinloss in Scotland during their long service from 1969 to 2010.

The ‘Mighty Hunter’, as it is known, will have to be dismantled in Coventry before making the long journey by road to Cornwall where it will then be reassembled.

It’s a big task and will cost in the region of £300,000 – but for Richard it is a very exciting project and he lights up as he talks about it.

The aviation heritage centre already has a restored cockpit from a Nimrod on display but the prospect of having the full aircraft is clearly a milestone for the museum.

There are plans for where the aircraft will be located so that its engines can be fired up and visitors can see it turned on and a dedicated centre is being planned so that people can learn all about this giant of the sky.

However, there is one sticking point in this plan as the aviation heritage centre is currently locked in an impasse with landlords Cornwall Council about renewing its lease at RAF St Mawgan.

The museum, which does not get any subsidy or financial support from the council, wants to remain at the Newquay site but Richard says that the council is currently setting too high a price.

“We have never asked for any money from the council, we are a non-profit organisation which has been run entirely with private funding. But we don’t think the terms of the lease that the council is offering are fair.

“There has been talk of moving us elsewhere on the airfield, which we would be happy to do, but we want to be able to continue to provide an attraction, educational and training facility for the future.

“We cannot do that at the current rate they are suggesting – we are negotiating with them and we hope that they will see the benefits of what we do and help us to remain here.”

Some of the aircraft at Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre at RAF St Mawgan (Image: Richard Whitehouse/LDRS)

These negotiations have held up the plans to bring the Nimrod to Cornwall as the aviation heritage centre cannot complete that transfer until they have signed a new lease agreement.

Once that has been done they will then be able to secure the funding they need to bring the Mighty Hunter home. Richard says that financial contributions for the project have already been offered but the museum cannot finalise these until the lease is secure.

Education and training is a key part of the museum and heritage centre which hosts school visits and other groups throughout the year.

Richard tells of work experience students who have been to the centre and then gone onto pursue careers in aerospace. The centre also provides training facilities for Cornwall College including those training as cabin crew who can use one of the aircraft.

The centre is also used by the MoD for training, using the aircraft to simulate rescue scenarios. Richard explained that this has also attracted NATO which brought representatives from nine countries to use the facilities.

There are plans to further increase the educational facilities at the centre, with new classrooms proposed, which will allow even more children and young people to visit the museum.

A new educational charity has been established to help develop this side of the aviation heritage centre – Cornwall Aerospace Education Trust (CAET) will be dedicated to supporting STEM and aerospace education opportunities.

The museum already has links with Cornwall College, Truro and Penwith College and many local schools and the aim is to build on this.

There are also plans to link the heritage centre with the developing educational side of Spaceport Cornwall which will allow young people to learn not just about the history of aviation in Cornwall but also the future and the development of satellite launches from Newquay due to start next year.

In fact the heritage centre has also recently acquired space related exhibits from the Black Arrow UK space program which was developed in the 1960s.These will be on display for the new season in 2022.

Some of the aircraft at Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre at RAF St Mawgan (Image: Richard Whitehouse/LDRS)

As Richard takes us around the aircraft and hangar where work is taking place to prepare for the reopening of the centre on February 20 he tells of the joy of visitors who come to the museum.

He explains that some make a visit to Cornwall just to see the magnificent aircraft with visitors from across the UK and Europe.

And he explains how some of those visitors have personal connections to the aircraft – one chap explained how he had trained in one of the aircraft on display before then going on to detail how there were also two others which he had been at the controls of during his career.

The story seemed too good to be true but when he produced his flight logbook which showed that these were indeed the aircraft he had flown it was clearly a remarkable coincidence to be celebrated.

Richard is also clearly moved at one point when he explains how one visitor in his 90s was given the chance to get back into the cockpit of an aircraft from his past and promptly burst into tears of joy.

The emotional connections of these aircraft are matched by their importance to our history and heritage and it is thanks to the dedication of centres like this that these machines are here for people to appreciate.

Some of the aircraft on display might otherwise have ended up as scrap, but they are now the pride and joy of a museum which is not only preserving the past but also helping new generations to enjoy and appreciate aerospace and engineering.

Richard sums it up saying: “Our ambition is to provide Cornwall with a unique, inspirational destination for people of all ages where they can come and have excitement and fun and come to be inspired and learn about aviation and learn about aerospace.”

From the 672 reviews on Tripadvisor – 649 of which rate the museum as excellent or very good – it is clear that they are well on course to achieving that goal.