If you fancy a weekend that swaps the present for the 1940s, there is a fairly obvious place to do it. Eden Camp Modern History Museum, just outside Malton, is turning its grounds back to the wartime era for its Back to the 1940s weekend on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, with the gates open from 10:00 to 17:00 on both days. The setting does half the work for you: the museum sits on the site of a former British Prisoner of War camp built in 1942, and it still stands on twenty-two of the original POW huts, which are now filled with immersive exhibits, re-enactors and live performances in the Heritage Hall and the Garrison Bar.
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The music is a big part of the weekend. Kyle Evans takes on George Formby, and the line-up rounds out with Hattie Bee, Karen Colin and Don Gentile, the York Vintage Dance Group, The Mike Brown Swing Band and DJ Paddy O'Kaye. If you are there on the Saturday, the day carries on into the evening from 19:00 with a 1940s-style dance of swing, jazz and period songs, with drinks at the Yorkshire Bus Bar. That evening dance is included with Saturday and weekend tickets, so it is worth staying on if you have already paid for the day.
There is plenty to browse between the acts. Confirmed traders include C&P Supplies, Dads Army, War-Drobe, The Vintage Laine, Antiques Lady in Hut 7, A Sticky Situation, Goodeys, JSC Collectables, Edward's Shed, Betty's Backyard and Woodfield. When you need to eat, the Yorkshire Bus Bar, WinStan's Bunker Café and the I Love Lucy's food truck cover you.
On price, an adult day ticket is £19, or £17 online, and children aged 5 to 16 are £15, or £14 online, with under-fives free. Weekend online tickets are £30 for adults and £25 for children. Family online tickets are tiered: two adults and two children for £60, three children for £70, one child for £47, one adult and one child for £30, one adult and two children for £43, and one adult and three children for £58. Group day tickets follow a similar pattern, with two adults and two children at £65. Weekend family tickets are £80 for two adults and two or three children, £80 for two adults and one child, and £60 for one adult and one to three children. A separate 1940s Evening Tea Dance ticket is £10 at the door, though booking is recommended, and a free carer ticket comes with any full-price ticket.
A few practical notes before you go. You are encouraged to turn up in civil or military period clothing, but there are firm rules on what not to bring: weapons are strictly prohibited, including blank-firing guns, knives and bayonets, and SS, Gestapo or Russian uniforms and equipment are not allowed. Getting there is made easier by a free shuttle bus running between Pickering, Galtres and Eden Camp across both days. The weekend is run in collaboration with the Pickering 1940s Weekend, so it sits as part of a wider wartime celebration across the area.
Published Date
6 October 2026
