The Radar tower has been entered in a national competition to identify the most unusual place for the reading of the 80th anniversary proclamation. We were joined by Harwich Mayor, Cllr Morrison, Harwich High Steward, Sue Daish and the Town Crier, Richard Bench. We open to the public on Sunday 11th May between 11am and 3pm so please come along to see the only Type 287 Radar Array in the world 🙂
We will be starting our 2025 season on Easter Weekend this year. We open at 11am on Sunday 20th April and will also be open on Monday 21st April until 3pm on both days.
Harwich RDF Tower is a unique survivor from WWII being the only one of 11 built to help protect the British Isles between April 1941 and December 1943.
Entry to the tower is still free, but donations are always welcome. Hope to see you there 🙂
We have just finished putting together our list of open days for 2025. This can be found on our Open Days page. We open for the first time on Easter Sunday 20th April and Monday 21st April, 11am to 3pm.
Admission to the tower is free, but donations are always welcome. Dogs are also welcome, but due to the steep steps inside the tower, this is up to the discretion of the dog owner.
If you came along to see us in 2024, you are more than welcome to return. If you have not visited before, we look forward to seeing you in 2025.
Last Sunday we held our last open day of the 2024 season and was glad to welcome 34 visitors during the day, Our furthest was from Australia, so we are certainly on the map now. It’s been a good year with 573 guests over 17 open days, a bit down on last year, but still good for us.
Ruby: It’s amazing to think that I am standing were [sic] the Navy Officer was standing all those years ago!
S Merry: Really interesting museum, thank you
J Oakley: Wonderful museum!
Thank you to everyone who has visited us this year, it’s been a pleasure to meet you. We are closed now until April 2025 and will post dates as soon as they are confirmed. We can still open the tower for private visits and groups, usually on a Sunday, subject to availability. If you haven’t been along yet, we look forward to meeting you in 2025 🙂
Sunday 27th October will be our last open day this year so fingers crossed for a fine day. We will be opening at 11am until 3pm as usual. Entry is still free but donations are always welcome. We have met many interesting visitors this year from far and wide. Our furthest this season was a family from Melbourne, Australia.
Lisa & Paul: Interesting, like the models
CO11 1LG: Excellent, very interesting and atmospheric
A Forbes: Lovely to see this being preserved
NR17 1SA: Well worth a visit
Just a few of the positive comments we have received in our visitors book this season. We have had a great year again and are already looking forward to reopening in April 2025. Thank you to all those who visited us this year. If you haven’t been to see us yet, please come along and you can see the only Type 287 radar array in the world, still in its original location. Hope to see you in 2025 🙂
This years event was accompanied by two days of lovely autumnal weather, this meant there was a lot of people in Harwich exploring the areas rich history. At the Radar Tower, we welcomed 41 visitors on Saturday and an impressive 67 on Sunday. We spoke to people from far and wide including Northampton, The Netherlands and even Melbourne, Australia.
E Ryan & S Hunter: Interesting very informative
Amy: Fantastic and my children absolutely loved it…lots of questions asked
Jodie & James: Amazing! So Cool
It’s always educational speaking to visitors during our open days. Most are interested in history and some are surprised how successful Radar was in it’s early days. We also had a visitor who actually made parts for one of our exhibits, a new artefact we received last year, known as a ‘Huff Duff’. This was a high frequency (radio) direction finder, used to locate downed airman and enemy submarines. We still have open days left for 2024 so if you haven’t been along to see us, there’s still time before we close for the season at the end of October. Hope to see you there 🙂
The season has picked up a bit over the past few open days. Visitor numbers are down on last year but donations are almost the same, so thank you for your kind donations if you have come along to see us. We still have several dates before we close for the season, including Heritage Weekend when we will be opening Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September, 11am to 3pm.
S Webb: Excellent displays, really interesting facts
Sue and Eddie: It was an enjoyable visit thank you
CO11 2QN: A fascinating insight into the history of the tower and it’s purpose
We have added a few more artefacts during the year and have been donated some interesting items that could have been used in the tower during WWII. We have met some great visitors during the year with some interesting conversations and insights into history. If you haven’t visited yet, we are open on certain dates until the end of October (please see our Open Day page). Group visits can be arranged, please contact us for further information. Hope to see you there 🙂
Not quite the warm, sunny open day we were hoping for but we still had a few intrepid visitors come along to see us. We are still receiving positive feedback regarding the content and presentation of the tower and we are still adding information and artefacts to the collection. If you haven’t visited us recently, please come and see us again, we have a new display showing the Maunsell Forts and the Radar Site at Walton on the Naze.
Amazing gem – very educational
Amazing 12 out of 10 [sic]
2ppl & 3 dogs: Stunning, beautifully restored. Very atmospheric. So glad we came
We open again on Sunday 23rd June between 11am and 3pm. Fingers crossed for a lovely sunny day 🙂
Two more successful open days this month with reasonable weather and attendance. Sunday 12th saw 46 visitors coming to see us and a further 29 on the 26th. Although numbers are slightly down on 2023, the positive feedback received continues. One of the difficult tasks when setting up the displays was to interpret a complex subject and make it interesting to all ages, something I believe we have achieved.
Darlene (Canada): Such a lot of history packaged in a tiny space!
Alex: Unique experience!
Sampson: Very interesting, many thanks
Radford family: Kids loved this. They have walked past for years and wanted to see inside.
Sunday June 9th is our next open day, 11am until 3pm, admission is free but donations are always welcome. Please come along and visit us at this unique location, one of the earliest applications of Radio Direction Finding (aka Radar) in the country.
Unfortunately, we had our wettest and least attended open day to date. We stayed at our post and welcomed four hardy visitors. Two from Reading and 2 from the Netherlands, where many of our visitors arrive from. Being only a few miles from Parkeston Quay, where the ferry from the Hook of Holland docks, we are a favourite stop off point for people entering or leaving the UK. We still received positive feedback which is always good.
Jamie – Great!
Kees B – Interesting & stunning
Our next open day is Sunday 12th May between 11am and 3pm. Entry is free but donations are always welcome. If you haven’t visited the Radar tower since 2021, we have added many artefacts and have installed interpretation panels explaining the tower and how it worked. Hope to see you soon at this unique survivor from WWII 🙂