Northamptonshire pair
Sywell Aviation Museum → Harrington Aviation Museum
Sywell, then Harrington, 12 miles apart; a 1930s aerodrome, then a secret one.
Distances are straight-line miles from Northampton city centre; roads add a quarter to a half. Prices are adult admission from the gazetteer survey.
Nearest first
Aviation museums within 30 miles of Northampton
| Museum | Miles | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sywell Aviation MuseumNorthampton, Northamptonshire | 6.5 | Free | 5 | Sywell Aviation Museum: a POW-hut-sized, free museum on Britain's loveliest Art Deco aerodrome, where resident Spitfires and a Mustang… |
| Harrington Aviation MuseumNorthampton, Northamptonshire | 11.4 | £8 | — | Harrington was Station 179, home of the 'Carpetbaggers' — black-painted B-24s dropping agents and supplies to the Resistance by… |
| 306th Bombardment Group MuseumBedford, Bedfordshire | 17.9 | Free | — | Thurleigh's 306th BG museum — the group that flew the first US heavy-bomber raid from England and inspired 'Twelve O'Clock High' — free… |
| Twinwood Airfield: Glenn Miller Museum & Aviation MuseumBedford, Bedfordshire | 18.1 | £5 | — | Twinwood Farm is where Glenn Miller took off into the fog on 15 December 1944 and vanished; the control tower and museums keep his story… |
| Midland Air MuseumCoventry, Warwickshire | 26.1 | £11 | 66 | Vulcan XL360 with cockpit access and volunteer-led tours (ask for the instrumentation talk), plus the Whittle jet heritage collection a… |
| Upper Heyford Heritage CentreBicester, Oxfordshire | 26.3 | £25 | — | Upper Heyford Heritage Centre — the Cold War preserved by accident: a vast ex-USAF F-111 base with hardened shelters, toured by… |
| The Shuttleworth CollectionBiggleswade, Bedfordshire | 26.7 | £19.50 | 55 | The 1934 DH.88 Comet 'Grosvenor House', winner of the MacRobertson England–Australia air race, restored to fly; and the Edwardians —… |
| King's Cliffe Airfield MuseumPeterborough, Northamptonshire | 28.8 | Free | — | King's Cliffe (20th FG) opened its purpose-built museum near the hangar base where Glenn Miller played his final airfield concert — new,… |
From the city
Days out from Northampton
The 306th Bomb Group museum at Thurleigh and Twinwood are 18 miles east via the A428. The Midland Air Museum is 26 miles west via the M1 and M45. Shuttleworth, the strongest collection in range, is 27 miles south-east. Upper Heyford's Cold War base and free King's Cliffe are also just inside the line.
East to Bedford
306th Bombardment Group Museum → Twinwood Airfield: Glenn Miller Museum & Aviation Museum
Thurleigh, then Twinwood, 4 miles apart; check both opening calendars.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is the nearest aviation museum to Northampton?
Sywell Aviation Museum. It is about 7 miles north-east, at Sywell Aerodrome.
Is there a free aviation museum near Northampton?
Yes. Sywell Aviation Museum (about 6 miles), 306th Bombardment Group Museum (about 18 miles) and King's Cliffe Airfield Museum (about 29 miles) are free to enter in our July 2026 price snapshot.
What was RAF Harrington?
The base for the Carpetbagger flights that dropped agents and supplies into occupied Europe. The museum is about 11 miles north of Northampton.