Norfolk Tank Museum

The Norfolk Tank Museum stands on the edge of Forncett St Peter, a quiet village twelve kilometres south of Norwich. It holds around thirty armoured vehicles mostly from the Cold War, plus a large collection of small arms. Among them is the only surviving Crossley-Kégresse half-track and a running replica of a First World War Mark IV built for a television series. The museum began in 2011 when Stephen MacHaye turned his lifelong collection into a public display. His first purchase, an Alvis Saladin in 1995, is still on show. In 2017 Channel 4 asked the museum to build a second Mark IV, Deborah II, which was completed in six months and driven to Cambrai. Inside the Main Hall most vehicles are ready to run and three can be entered. A converted shipping container holds deactivated firearms from the First Boer War to today. A Nissen hut nearby shows military radios, medals and local history. Outside, tanks and guns stand on hard-standing while others sit on an assault course built behind the buildings. Armourfest each year lets visitors watch many vehicles move across the course. A small extra fee allows a ride in the museum’s tracked Bv 206. The Gun Container displays rifles and machine guns from the Martini-Henry to the AK-74. The Nissen hut holds Clansman and Larkspur radios plus model vehicles. Open-air exhibits include the Alvis Saracen, a Second World War German howitzer and a Soviet Strela-10 missile system. The assault course tests off-road ability with hillocks and static tanks. On Tuesday evenings an archery range runs sessions, and the first Sunday each month offers air-rifle and bow tuition.