The Wing is the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust’s visitor centre at the Capel-le-Ferne site of the National Memorial to the Few and is home to The Scramble Experience, an impressive audio-visual introduction to the site. The Experience is now free, following the introduction of a small charge to access The Wing itself.
Opened in March, 2015, this eye-catching building was designed by Folkestone architectural practice Godden Allen Lawn in the shape of a Spitfire wing, complete with its famous uplift.
About The Wing
The Wing is not a museum but houses The Scramble Experience, an exciting, hands-on attraction that uses audio-visual effects, a video wall and other special techniques to show something of what the Few experienced in the summer and early autumn of 1940.
As well as the visitor experience, the Wing includes a classroom area that is used to help fulfil the Trust’s mission to educate youngsters, in particular, about the heroism and sacrifice of those who took to the skies above the White Cliffs of Dover in the Battle of Britain. It is called the Geoffrey Page Centre in honour of the man who inspired the building of the Memorial and can also be hired by businesses when not being used by schools.
A first floor ‘cockpit’ area with an open balcony offers superb views across the Channel to France, from where the Luftwaffe would have appeared in 1940. It is home to the Cockpit Cafe, which sells a range of sandwiches, snacks, ice creams, cakes and hot and cold drinks, including alcoholic beverages. Access to the cafe only is free of charge.
The Wing is also home to a well-stocked souvenir shop.
