Tankfest is a celebration of military history and military present. At the festival, alongside The Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset, you can find almost any tank or military vehicle of note. The idea behind Tankfest is that it allows guest vehicles to be displayed and put through their paces in front of an audience of knowledgeable and appreciative enthusiasts. This is one festival you really need to go to. There are re-enactment groups dressed as German, US, French and British troops from both World Wars. Toby was chuffed to have a photo taken with a US GI who let him hold his Thompson submachine gun and then acted as loader when Toby manned the .30 calibre machine gun. A little boys dreams came true!
Day 3
We visited Tankfest on the third and final day (Sunday). Toby was excited and Millie-Mae was, sort of. Well she’s a teenager and so enthusiasm doesn’t go with the territory. We parked and got through the security preliminaries that included the confiscation of my picnic backpack’s corkscrew (we did get it back later).
The festival has a lot to see. The first tank we walked up to was in fact a replica! The British Mk IV tank was built for the film Warhorse – it is fully functional.
‘Warhorse’ tank
We then went along to the parking area where all of the vehicles to be used in the displays were parked up and could be looked over and explored.
We had tank overload with older World War II vehicles such as the Jagdpanther and Panther as well as the T34 and many variants of the Sherman tank. There were Leopards, Cougars, Mastiffs, Lynx’s and even a Scorpion. You will never see a more comprehensive collection of military vehicles.
German Stug III
T-72, the most widely used battle tank in the world
On the way to the display area we passed dozens of trading stands selling militaria. Toby of course bought some bullets to add to his collection. However, there were badges, uniforms, pistols, rifles, grenades, binoculars, medals and even flags and first aid kits for sale. If you want to collect, it is there. Even if you are not buying you can look and admire.
I am sure we even passed some Dad’s Army home guard at one point (and there was one who looked the spitting image of Captain Manwaring).
The Show
And then we go to the display arena. We stayed there, in the shade, for two hours admiring all of the vehicles being put through their paces in front of us. There were loads of Cold War and modern fighting vehicles. These included the chieftain, M60, Challenger 1 and 2, and Centurion.
Challenger 1; this one is called Flying Fox
The show was fully commentated by experts who knew every nut and bolt. There was also a display of recovery vehicles and engineering equipment such as bridging tanks. But that was only scratching the surface as the displays went on all day.
A quick point to mention: if you have very small children it might be a good idea to bring ear defenders with you as the pretend ‘bombs’ are very loud!
Oh, and for a small fee you could go for a bumpy ride in a M548!
Outside the Arena
We had our picnic in the family viewing area and then when the sun got too strong, we decided to move on. Outside this area were the workshops that could be viewed and also the food concessions where you could get pretty much anything from a pulled pork sandwich to a vegan hotdog.
One innovative thing was a company selling refillable water bottles. They also refilled any reusable water bottle as it was a really hot day.
The Tank Museum
The Tank Museum itself, with its permanent exhibition of vehicles, is superb. We headed there to get some shade and to get the full experience. The kids headed straight for the shop, huh, what a surprise! Toby bought a tank kit – the same one I said ‘no’ to when we were in Arromanches, Normandy, the previous month.
We then went around the museum to see Tigers, Shermans, Matildas, Jeeps, and a huge number of infographics and interactive displays. The museum tells the story of the tank and shows its development from the early days of WWI right through WWII to the modern-day tank.
Purchasing a Tankfest ticket gives you 12 months membership of the Tank Museum, so you can come back and view it on quieter days. We definitely will. The museum also had lots of militaria traders selling a huge array of military souvenirs and collectables.
We spotted a children’s STEM quiz (for different ages) on the way into the main Museum building. We’ll definitely do this on our next visit.
One of the many highlights at Tankfest were the Army Parachute Display Team!
Army Parachute Display Team
All in all we had a brilliant day and we will definitely go again.
My son would absolutely love this! He’s normally surrounding by girl stuff thank to his sisters.
I wish I had your issue – even with an older sister, there’s more chance of finding toy dinosaurs than a doll in her room!
I love the educational side to this! Great photos too!
Thank you. We always try to strike a balance between ‘fun’ and ‘learning’ … I think it’s wonderful that so many museums these days are interactive and engage with children
A great alternative family day out to the usual sights, so educational too
It’s really good – loud – fun!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a day out like this before. I think my girl would be really interested in all of the tanks!
There were 100s of children there – they all seemed to be enjoying themselves
It looks like a great day out. I certainly know two little boys that would have had an absolute blast here!
I’m sure they would – tickets for next year are already on sale!
This is definitely something a little different, I think Scott would enjoy a day out here
I think everyone would enjoy it – regardless of whether you like tanks or not. It’s really interesting
What a lovely place. My nephew would love it here.
You should go – it’s great fun!
Oh my son and husband would LOVE this day out! My husband has driven one and he loved it!!
I think that has to be next on the list – need to look into it
Great article and very descriptive. Seems like a proper adventure and opportunity to see lots of army equipment that are not displayed anywhere else. My little boy is too young for such adventure unfortunately but it is definitely something that we will consider in the future.
Thank you x It’s an annual event, so many in a few years when he’s a little older?
my hubby is exarmy and our daughter is army mad – we so have the bovington tank museum on our to visit list x
I see why this is on your list! My son is the same
My brother in-law lives on the Bovington Camp! The tank museum is great, and it’s nice to see they have STEM activities for the children.
Oh wow that’s so cool! My son would be jealous, lol.
Oh my gosh, wow! My boys aren’t hugely interested in tanks but I think they would still love seeing these close up.
As a total newbie to tanks … I was quite surprised at how relatively small they were. I expected monster truck sized vehicles!
We used to go to lots of these events when I was younger. Looks like a great day out
You were very lucky! Yes this is a good day out too x
This looks like a totally brilliant and different day out! I think my youngest would just LOVE it!
It’s very noisy, but wow it’s a good day out!
I would definitely love to experience this kimd of adventure!
I will make sure to try amd visit this place
Well tickets are already on sale for next year’s Tankfest!
We love Tank Fest but it always seems to clash with Camp Bestival – looks like it doesn’t next year though
Yes I’m going to have to try out this ‘festival’ malarky next year!
What a fabulous day out. My son would love this so much!! Thanks for all the helpful info.
Thank you for your kind words. Tankfest is a great day out though!
Oh wow! I didn’t know this type of festival was around. It looks full on and definitely one for those that like getting hands on and up close 😊
It was very loud!