by Janis / 0 comments - Orginally published:12th March 2019

Codebreaking in the English countryside

We finally made it. I was so looking forward to visiting Bletchley Park.

Come on, who doesn’t love the thought of spying, espionage and secrets?

The incredible work undertaken by the women and men at Bletchley Park during World War II was invaluable to our future.

It was so secretive at Bletchley that even the families of the people who worked there were unaware of what was unfolding behind closed doors.

Who would have expected back in the late 1930s that a charming Mansion set in the English countryside would hold so many secrets?

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Three of the encryptions wheels, isolated from an Enigma machine, mounted on a perspex display stand in a display cabinet at Bletchley Park
Secret Spindles

Where is Bletchley Park?

How to get to Bletchley Park

- By Train
Your nearest station is Bletchley, and it's just a short 5-minute walk away

- By Car
If you are travelling by car, there is an onsite car-park, which is free of charge. Tip; if you’re using Sat-Nav, enter Sherwood Drive, Bletchley, MK3 6DS. It was so well hidden we drove straight past.  If you use What3Words then use ///carbon.gain.cloud

Discovering Bletchley Park

Secrets revealed
So, armed with our annual ticket, we enter the world of codebreakers. First, you stroll through the visitor’s centre where there’s an introduction to Bletchley Park and all its goings-on. Here, you can test your own codebreaking skills and interact with the exhibits.
A stand-alone information board as you enter the Bletchley Park Museum detailing the 'Importance of Bletchley Park' against a backdrop of battle scenes.
The Importance of Bletchley Park
This is not just for the little kids amongst us!
Another stand-alone wartime information board, step 5, called 'Have we seen anything like this before?'
Cross-referencing in multiple languages
A set of small wooden filing drawers from the operational days of Bletchley Park
Everything documented
We grabbed our audio guide, which is included in the ticket price, and uncovered the hidden enigmas for ourselves.

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Delving into Bletchley Park

Their lips are sealed
It’s hard to imagine how this whole operation was kept such a secret in the times we live in now. At its height, nearly 10,000 people were working here, most of whom were women. The codebreaking factory ran day and night, and the staff worked six days a week across three shift patterns.
A wooden information board explaining that Bletchley Park's people came from all walks of life, civilian and military, with a cartoon character, from the era, of a loud military figure.
Very hush-hush
All levels of skills were required to keep this well-oiled machine running. A large number of employees were Oxbridge educated and were sought after if they spoke different languages, particularly Italian, German, Japanese, and French speakers.
A selection of framed cartoon motivational images from Bletchley Park
Making it lighthearted

Discover more on Bletchley Park

Now you've heard our personal experience of a visit to Bletchley Park, but to check out prices, what's on and to book your tickets, then make sure you check out the Bletchley Park website

The Secrets of Bletchley Park

Head to Block B
There’s no set route at Bletchley Park; you are free to wander around as you wish. We headed to Block B first, which now houses the main museum, the world’s largest public display of Enigma machines, and an exhibition on Alan Turing.
A notice board outside Block-B with an ariel view of the site during the war
Bomb-proofed Block-B
Block B was built along with Block A in 1941/2 and was bomb-proofed. These blocks resulted from the expansion of the codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. They had outgrown the Mansion and The Huts.
A captured cypher machine with its out case take off in a display cabinet at Bletchley Park
A cypher machine
You’ll need to allow quite a bit of time here as there’s a considerable amount of interesting information to absorb in the museum; we were pleased we headed there first.
A mock-up of a listing post designated a "Y" station in the Block-B Museum at Bletchley Park
A mock-up of a listening station

One of the heroes of Bletchley Park

Alan Turing
There’s detailed information on how the incredible mathematician Alan Turing and his colleagues broke the codes on the Enigma and Lorenz machines, along with other cyphers - fascinating stories into people’s lives as double agents and spies.
slate statue of a seated Alan Turing working on an Enigma machine, in front of a black & white image of the working interior of Block-B during the war.
Statue of Alan Turing made from Welsh slate by Stephen Kettle
A boxed original Enigma 1 cypher machine in a display cabinet at Bletchley Park
Enigma I cypher machine

Did you know?

That Bletchley Park has hit the Silver Screen on a few occasions. In 2014 'The Imitation Game', starring Benedict Cumberbatch (as Alan Turing) and Kiera Knightley (as Joan Clarke), was filmed, in part, here. It's worth noting that the Mansion exteriors were actually the Joyce Grove Estate though.

Exploring Bletchley Park

Enjoy the outdoors
After our self-guided lesson in codebreaking, we headed towards the Mansion and strolled around the picturesque lake. Bletchley Park has catering facilities, however, bringing your own picnic and enjoying the surroundings is another way to go.
The Mansion at Bletchley Park, with deck chairs placed in the shade in the foreground.
Relax in the shade
Grab yourself a bench or a deckchair, sit back, and immerse yourself in all the whisperings and secrets that would have been circling around during World War II.
The view of the manor house across the lake at Bletchley Park.
Bletchley Park lake and Mansion
What is fun to listen out for as you wander around Bletchley Park is the audio soundtrack. You can hear planes flying overhead, steam trains pulling into Bletchley Station, and balls hitting the tennis court. They sound like they are happening right next to you.

Where to stay in Bletchley Park

Mercure Milton Keynes Hotel
It is a comfortable four-star hotel with a wealth of facilities. It's just under seven miles from Bletchley Park and close to the centre of Milton Keynes.
Horwood House Hotel
A traditional 4-star country house hotel with all the expected amenities, such as fee onsite parking (and EV charging). Bletchley Park is a little over several miles away.

Step inside the mansion at Bletchley Park

Where it started
The Mansion dates from the 19th century. This is where the codebreaking began, on the ground floor of the beautiful manor house.
The panelled wood office in the mansion at Bletchley Park, laid out as it would have been whilst it was operational
The Office in Bletchley Park Mansion
Along with Commander Denniston’s office, you can wander through the rooms reading some of the intriguing personal stories of the men and women who worked at Bletchley Park. It really is fascinating to see the lives that they led and the secrets they kept.
A modern storyboard, consisting of 15 individual images, of personnel that worked at Bletchley Park. Each one can be rotated to reveal their story.
The Personal Stories

Research your past

If you have any relatives that worked at Bletchley Park during WWII, you can search their “Roll of Honour” in the Mansion, to find out a little more about them.

The unsung heroes of Bletchley Park

Day & night
We then headed onto the Stableyard and cottages, where the groundbreaking discoveries of the daily changes in the German Enigma were made by Alan Turing and his colleagues.
The gatehouse to the stableyard at Bletchley Park
Gatehouse to the stableyard
Dispatch riders would also arrive at the Stableyard gate to deliver hundreds and hundreds of messages, day and night.
An open book stone memorial at Bletchley Park to the three Polish mathematicians who handed over their work on the Enigma code at the start of the war.
The Polish Memorial
There’s a lovely Memorial here to commemorate three Polish mathematicians who also worked on the Enigma code in 1933 and handed over their findings to the British in 1939.

There are so many beautiful regions to discover around the UK. From the delightful Kent coast in the southeast to the stunning Highlands of Scotland in the north. Discover them all via its beautiful back roads.

Grab a copy of the latest DK Eyewitness guide to ensure you don't miss all those incredible sights.

The cover to the book - 'DK Eyewitness Back Roads Great Britain

The mysteries of Bletchley Park

Deciphering in The Huts
The magic was taking place in huts around the park during WWII. Specific huts were responsible for deciphering information from particular forces.
Inside a hut at Bletchley Park, with a holographic wartime codebreaker working on a code on a blackboard.
Codebreaking at Bletchley Park

For example, Hut 6 was used to decrypt Enigma messages from the German Army and Air Force.

Hut 8’s responsibilities were for the Navy; these huts would have additional staff translating and analysing the information.

Hut 3 worked in conjunction with 6 for Army and Air Forces, and Hut 4 operated along with 8 for Navy translations.

A mocked-up meeting table of foldout wooden tables and chairs in a stark room in hut 6 in Bletchley Park
Deciphering within the huts
A chute was built between the two so that they could send messages to each other. It was pretty crude in construction, but hey, it worked.
An official government blue sign with white writing stating 'Don't help the enemy'; careless talk may give away vital secrets.
Don’t Help the Enemy
A sign for the Machine Room, a deciphering room within hut 6 at Bletchley Park.
Manual, repetitive tasks

The workings at Bletchley Park

Bombe Machines
Huts 11 and 11a were built to house the Bombe machines developed by Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman and Hugh Alexander. These machines were continually maintained throughout each day by the Wrens codebreakers. They were repeatedly changing settings and running each drum through its 17,576 positions.
A vast array of dials on a replica Bombe Machine housed at Bletchley Park
Replica of the Bombe machine
The cyphers that the codebreakers produced could only be useful for decoding messages received within the 24-hour window, as the Enigma machines' settings would be changed by the Germans at midnight every day.
A display board showing the cabling at the back of a Bombe Machine at Bletchley Park
Bombes operated by Wrens

This whole process was continually challenging, and we owe a great deal to the codebreakers at Bletchley Park.

I could easily return to Bletchley park again as there was so much to digest, and it was incredibly interesting.

Good to know

That if you are an English Heritage member, then you are entitled to 20% off the ticket price.

* This post may contain links to affiliated sites where we earn a small commission at no additional charge to you.

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