Skip to main content

This October half term we’ll be sharing tales from Roman and gladiatorial life.

There will be live-action performances, plus craft activities and an Animals of the Armouries museum trail. 

All of this activity is free. You can book your entry tickets now. You can also add tickets to the live action performances when you book your tickets, subject to availability. Craft and trail activities do not require pre booking. 

Entry tickets include entry to the Museum between 10am-5pm. The museum closes at 5pm. You can arrive any time from 10am. Please note 10am is our busiest entry time and mornings are busier than afternoons. 

Craft activities are available from 11am to 3pm. The first live performance begins at 1030am and the last performance at 330pm.

The Animals of the Armouries trail is a free trail which you can do all day. 

Book your free entry and performance tickets now for Roman Tales

And if you'd like to make a real Gladiatorial day of it, don’t miss your last chance to visit our fascinating Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum exhibition before it closes on Sunday 2 November. Tickets are £4 for concessions and children, £6.50 for adults and 3s and under go free. We expect the exhibition to be busy over half term so we recommend pre booking if you can. Tickets are bookable in slots of 1 hour and you can fit this around your other activities. 

Book Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum exhibition tickets 

25 October to 2 November

Royal Armouries Museum

For All the Family

Free

Live action

Every day our multi-talented, multi-skilled team with be presenting live combat demonstrations and dramatic performances as they bring Roman history to life.

There will be six live shows everyday. Three from the following, repeated morning and afternoon. We strongly recommend you book tickets to the shows you would like to attend when you book your entry tickets as the show spaces have limited capacity. When you have chosen your daily tickets, you will be able to add the performances you wish to attend, subject to availability. Please only book the shows you intend to attend, to allow others to also book tickets.

  • Combat: Gladiators! (Daily)
    Witness the clash of two mighty gladiators in the arena! Discover their weapons & fighting style. Who wins? You decide…
  • Combat: Roman v Celt (Daily)
    Watch this clash of two iconic warrior cultures armed with sword, shield and spear.
  • Steel and Stripes (Saturday 25, Sunday 26, Monday 27 and Friday 31 October, Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 November only)
    Explore the weapons of the arena with a gladiator, and meet his fiercest four-legged opponent.
  • Androcles and the Tiger (Tuesday 28, Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 October only)
    Join our travelling players for an engaging puppet show; a new spin on the well-known folk tale of a Roman slave and a mighty tiger.

We will keep a small amount of capacity for shows on the day, however we strongly recommend pre booking. 

Royal Armouries reserves the right to alter the programme without prior notification.

Animals of the Armouries Trail

Pick up a free trail and explore the museum. 

Discover some fascinating facts about the many types of animals you can find in the galleries. You can pick up your free trail from one of our staff on site when you arrive at the museum. 

Craft Activities

These free craft activities will be available every day of the half-term holidays, between 11am and 3pm.

Drop-in and have a go at:

  • Creating a gladiator helmet
  • Making your own roman mosaic

Suitable for all ages, adult supervision required.

Book Your Tickets

As a national museum admission is free. Please pre-book your visit and do consider donating to support the Museum and our work to make our collection as accessible as we can to everyone. 

Book your visit

Gladiators Exhibition

Don't miss your last chance to visit our Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum exhibition. The exhibition will be open throughout the half term period, with the last day of opening 2 November.

Time slots
10am to 11am | 11am to 12pm | 12pm to 1pm | 1pm to 2pm | 2pm to 3pm | 3pm to 4pm | 4pm to 5pm

We recommend allowing 45 minutes for your visit to the exhibition.

Tickets:

  • Adult £6.50
  • Child/Concessions: £4.00
  • Under 3: Free

Book Exhibition Tickets

Share