This is a great (though somewhat out of the way) museum. If you are interested in the Mosquito, this is the place. The tour is self-guided, however, the staff is very knowledgeable and very friendly. They are willing to take their time to discuss the aircraft and the restorations and show you the ins and outs of what they are doing. It is my second visit and probably not my last.

A wonderful museum. It is a little specialised but has been there for over 60 years. It the home of the Mosquito and has three on show. Interesting facts and information not just about the Mosquito but plenty of other planes as well. A good number of planes to look in and go in ... including a BAe146 Fuselage. Perhaps not for very young children but anyone interested in planes and turbo jet engines it's a must. Nice little caffe too.

We loved it here. Visited as a family with older kids. Age 11 and 15, all with varied interest in military aircraft and history . All 4 of us loved it, especially our 15 yr old plane obsessed daughter. Museum is clean and welcoming, information boards are very easy to digest but give tonnes of info. Kids adored the question sheet which is deffinatly made to make sure you understood the information you read/discuss with the staff. There are lots of hands on things to do and experience and you can climb to look at cockpits and inside of planes. Really good day out. We spent a good 4 hours just enjoying ourselves and the talks were brilliant. Cafe was lovely and very reasonably priced with brilliant kind and funny staff. 2 members of staff stood out above all (despite everyone been fantastic) The general manager who was on the entry desk was amazing. Very kind and listened with great interest to the stories our eldest told about her time at cadets and scouts and when she Was lucky enough to fly . Talked to her for ages about different planes and history and just encouraged the conversation. It was lovely to see someone just chatting away and enjoying the conversation with our daughter. 2nd staff member ... Needs a flipping medal. What a guy Jay S I have never EVER met someone so enthusiastic, knowledgeable and passionate about the subject he is talking about. I could very happily spend hours talking to him about mosquitos and Merlin engines and I know nothing about either. His absolute love of his specialist subject is contagious and he absolutely made our entire visit better just because of his infectious personality, stories and information. Not only was he happy to discuss all things mosquito he happily chatted to us all about our interests (many of which were his own too) and really made us feel special and that he was interested in us too as well as we about the museum and his awesome stories. Jay is an absolute legend and a credit to you all. All in all we had a brilliant visit and I can't wait to return next time we travel down. Thanks so much for an amazing day .

Spent a fantastic couple of hours here on a random Wednesday in November. There's so much to see that I could have been longer. The volunteers are all really friendly and knowledgeable and it was a pleasure to spend time talking to them (even if it did nearly make me late home for tea!). The little cafe is also great for a snack to keep you fortified during your visit 😁 Will be coming back!

An amazing place that captures and preserves the outstanding legacy which is De Havilland. We spent 5+ hours there and it could have been longer. We also bought the tour package and sit in the Mossie, a great experience.

This museum is tucked away down a country road, and is run by the most devoted helpful and informative volunteers you could hope to meet. No question went unanswered, and they had so much patience for our Grandson and went out of their way to make sure that he would enjoy the experience. There is plenty to see here and it’s well worth a visit!

My wife and I visited today (23/02/24) as live in Hemel so very close and keep thinking we should go. Lovely little musuem showcasing the Mosiquito, Tiger Moth, Chipmunk, Vampire and a host of other De Havilland aircraft, very knowlegable and frinedly staff, lovely little musuem and a nice shop and cafe too. Will definitly visit again - well worth the visit just off J22 of M25.

Visited this museum on Saturday 23rd after many years. What a change as a further hanger has been built with lottery and other funding that has allowed this museum to tell the De Havilland story. Most people will be familiar with the Mosquito fighter that was the star of the film 633 Squadron and was built of 80% wood and 20% metal. You can see this star there and see the guns and engine that went into it. However, did you know that the worlds first commercial airliner the 'Comet' was built by this company. There is the only surviving square window example of this plane in the world here. Britain had a 3/4 year technical lead over Boeing with respect to air passenger jet travel but this also meant that hard lessons were learnt about stresses on the frame (hence round windows now) resulting in two fatal crashes that allowed Boeing to catch up and then dominate. You can go into the plane and see what early air travel was like. You will notice how few seats, no overhead luggage and spacious toilets compared to modern equivalents. The company also manufactured modern fighter jets and even the engines to go with them. There is so much to see and read but what I enjoyed so much was being able to speak to the very knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers who were only to glad to engage with visitors. I could have spent hours there as reading about about something as opposed to actually seeing and touching is never the same. As an example, British aircraft were originally armed with machine guns only rather than cannons that were adopted later. When you see the comparative sizes of the ammunition you understand why that change was necessary. I did not use the restaurant. If you want to understand and appreciate the genius of De Havilland, see and touch aircraft history and have people passionate about explaining this to you then this is the place to go. Look up the website for prices but for a family (assume two adults and two children up to 16 is a reasonable £35 with gift aid and £31.50 without.

With the daily car in use I took a day trip via train/bus to this museum. My primary goal was to see and learn more about the Mosquito aeroplane. So everyone has heard of the Spitfire and Hurricane but less know about this marvellous wooden wonder which was faster and more adaptable. I was not disappointed. Lots of info and helpful guides. Cafe was OK, microwaved baps but tea was good. From St. Albans City station there is a a half-hourly number 84 bus (the museums’s website says from High Street, no, outside railway station) the bus driver knew where to stop for me. 5-10 min walk down the drive, past old interesting buildings and Salisbury Hall itself. I probably could have spent longer there but was mindful of travel,time back home.

Lovely little gem of a museum. Great inside exhibits particularly around the Mosquito and the de Havilland story. Walk inside a Comet and enter a few planes outside too. The 60s decor inside the Dove was a particular highlight. And what a lovely few old estate buildings to drive past on the way in. Volunteers fantastic, knowledgeable, friendly. Cafe toasted sandwiches also highly recommended. Sort of a shame that the museum isn’t better signposted and better known. But also part of the loveliness was that it wasn’t too busy and there was lots of space just to take things in. Go & visit. We need to keep this kind of place alive.