Free entry to Shuttleworth's Jubilee playground is being reintroduced

From Monday (March 27) people will be able to access the Runway Café, shop and children's park without paying any admission fee.

The Jubilee playground had previously been free until the Covid-19 pandemic, when it was included in the whole-site admission cost of £15 per adult from June 2020. The Shuttleworth Trust said that visitors had "much preferred" an entrance charge for all the experiences, but the Trust received criticism that it "excluded lower income families" from the playground.

The move was met with delight on social media. One comment on the Trust’s announcement said: "Excellent news! Well done Shuttleworth for listening. Common sense has prevailed at last. We'll definitely be calling in to use the café on a regular basis and recommending that others do too."

Another added: "A very welcome return to a sensible arrangement, deserving of good support."

A Shuttleworth Trust spokesman said: "Shuttleworth, as with many other attractions, continues to evolve. During the Covid years we moved to a whole site admission structure which proved to be very successful in managing visitor numbers on site, including the launch of the very successful drive-in air show format.

"As we emerged out of the Covid restrictions, and using data-driven analysis, we decided it was again the right time to review our current structure.

"As a result of this, from March 27, the front end of our visitor attraction will open up to the general public, meaning the Runway Café, Shop and playground will all be accessible without paying an admission fee, visitors can now also enter the site from either our Hill Lane or newer Alder Drive entrance making access to the site more convenient to all.

"A new admission entrance within the shop will be opened with an update to the pricing to reflect the move, from here visitors will have access to the Collection Hangars, Engineering Hangar, Swiss Garden and Woodland Walk."

Adults will now pay £15.50; concessions £14. Children under 16 remain free. Alder Drive will remain the sole entrance on event days, the first of which will be April 8 and 9 for the Easter Bunny Fly In. Summer opening times remain unchanged – 10am until 5pm.