About

Not only does Battery Gardens boast one of the most panoramic views in the bay, it is also a Scheduled Monument. The history of the site dates back to the 1580's but it was most significantly used as a World War II Emergency Coastal Defence Battery. Many of the structures and emplacements from this period are still in existence and are maintained by a team of dedicated volunteers.

The Battery Heritage Education Centre & Museum is open on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 2.00pm – 4.00pm between March & October. There are also a number of Special Event Days which run on various Sundays throughout the summer. These run from 11am-4pm and feature guided tours of the grounds, extra displays and vehicles, reenactors in period uniforms and blank firing displays.

Dogs welcome in the museum on a lead!

On top of our regular seasonal opening hours, the highlights of our calendar are our special event days! We run selected open days from March to September (11.00 – 16.00) with extra dates in the summer holidays.

On top of the usual attractions and exhibits on display in the museums and in the grounds we have:

– Guided tours of the original restored Battery buildings (tours leave from the front of the museum at 12.00 and 13.30
– Interactive exhibits and displays run by our volunteers
– Military vehicles
– Re-enactors in period uniforms (military and civilian)
– Blank firing weapons display and talk (15.00)
– Gift shop selling memorabilia, militaria and toys

RE-ENACTORS & VEHICLE OWNERS! – If you would like to visit and display at one of our Special Event Days, we would love to have you! Please get in touch first to make sure we have space available to avoid disappoinment

Our museum is run entirely by a team of dedicated and passionate volunteers. We love sharing our knowledge with you and we take great pride in the work we do at the site. We rely solely on donations from members of the public. Whilst we don’t charge entry to the museum, we are always very grateful for any donation you wish to make in order for us to continue our work to preserve and improve the site for future generations. We are very proud to be the custodians of possibly the finest and most complete example of a wartime emergency coastal battery in the UK and, with your donations, we intend to continue our work to ensure the site is available for future generations to learn from and experience.

Please note: Our museum site is wheelchair accessible and dog friendly