Travel can be geographical, across the county or around the world. Or it can be back in time – and not in a Dr Who way!

I’m sitting in the cockpit of a 50-year-old Trident airliner, surrounded by period analogue instruments – including the pioneering blind landing system developed by locally-based Smiths Industries 60 years ago.

Later, I sit in the original red cabin seats, shut my eyes and I’m back on a 1970s BA Shuttle, landing in foggy darkness after a Belfast to Heathrow flight. I’m 20 again, transported back in time and that flight could have been on this very aircraft…

Celebrate Gloucestershire aviation

For anyone with the tiniest interest in Gloucestershire’s proud aerospace history, the Jet Age Museum, on Meteor Business Park by Gloucestershire Airport, makes an enthralling day out, packed with opportunities to ‘time travel’, as I did.

I’d lived in Gloucestershire for a decade before discovering this treasure, and appreciating its volunteers’ dedicated work to celebrate Gloucestershire’s aviation heritage and inspire youngsters to choose aviation careers. And all for the cost of a voluntary donation and a tasty snack in its cosy café.

From beautifully restored Gloster Meteors and the Trident fuselage, to a Vulcan bomber’s Smiths instruments and Hucclecote-built Gloster Javelin, the museum’s exhibits – original planes, models and interpretive displays – are sure to engage. There’s even a duo of miniatures for young pilots to ‘fly’!

Rain or shine, like Trident G-AWZU, this is definitely an all-weather experience. The Jet Age Museum satisfies at many levels as it inspires and evokes memories. On one visit, I spoke with a former Vulcan pilot who now volunteers. That took me back to the early ‘60s and watching high-flying Vulcans cross childhood’s perfectly blue skies.

Inspiring adults and children alike

Another time, I learned the fascinating story of the Trident’s history and painstaking restoration. If you’re very lucky, you might even meet someone who flew Gloster’s first jets in the 1950s. Who knows what’s possible on your day out? Or the aviation future a visit could inspire for the kids.

I waited years to discover the museum. It may not be as big or well-known as Brooklands or Duxford, but it’s on our doorstep and it’s an aviation gem. If you haven't visited yet, don’t leave it as long as I did. Get Gloucestershire’s Jet Age Museum on your radar today!