De Havilland Aircraft Museum
The De Havilland Aircraft Museum in Hertfordshire is Britain’s oldest aviation museum dedicated to a single aircraft manufacturer, celebrating more than a century of innovation from the company that produced some of the world’s most influential aircraft. Founded on the site where many of these machines were designed and tested, it offers an unusually authentic connection to aviation history. The museum’s star attraction is the de Havilland Mosquito, the legendary Second World War aircraft built almost entirely of wood. Several Mosquitos are on display, including rare prototypes and restored airframes that reveal the aircraft’s ingenious construction and its role as a fast, versatile fighter‑bomber. Visitors can examine the fuselage structure up close, gaining insight into the craftsmanship that made the Mosquito famous. Other highlights include the Comet exhibits, charting the story of the world’s first commercial jet airliner. Cockpit sections, engines, and technical displays show how de Havilland helped usher in the jet age. The museum also features aircraft such as the Vampire, Sea Vixen, and Tiger Moth, each illustrating a different chapter in British aviation. Interactive galleries explore design, engineering, and flight testing, while personal memorabilia from pilots and engineers adds a human dimension.
London Colney United Kingdom
De Havilland Aircraft Museum is just outside St Albans in Hertfordshire, on the edge of a quiet village. You will find it at Salisbury Hall, London Colney, St Albans AL2 1BU, just off the A414 near junction 22 of the M25. It is set in the grounds of Salisbury Hall where the de Havilland company was based, and is the oldest aircraft museum in Britain, famous for having three Mosquitos and lots of other classic aircraft. Right nearby you have the Roman city of Verulamium with Verulamium Museum on St Michael's Street, the Roman Theatre ruins and Old Gorhambury House at Gorhambury, plus Verulamium Park with its lake and Roman walls. In the city centre you have St Albans Cathedral, one of the oldest cathedrals in England, St Albans Museum and Gallery in the old Town Hall on St Peter's Street, and the medieval Clock Tower. A short drive brings you to Hatfield House at Hatfield Park, Great North Road, a huge Jacobean palace where Elizabeth I grew up, and Knebworth House with its gothic towers and gardens. You also have Shaw's Corner at Ayot St Lawrence, the home of George Bernard Shaw, and Ashridge Estate with the Bridgewater Monument for big woodland walks. For families, Willows Activity Farm and Paradise Wildlife Park are close, and London Colney itself has shops and cafes to break up the day.