The BBC have announced that they are closing the Doctor Who exhibitions in Land's End, Newcastle &Cardiff will be closed to make way for a larger settlement that will open in Cardiff in 2012.

Living in Cornwall, I am not happy with this. I haven't visited the Land's End exhibition yet, but I fully intend to before this happens. I think it unfair to force people to travel to Wales in order to see an exhibit that is currently available nearby, especially if they cannot afford to travel far (like me )

The new exhibit may be better, or more exciting, but it certainly will not be accessible to everybody

I don't know.

I don't live near any of those locations. So if I were to ever go to one I would like to see it all. I'd be disappointed if I went to, say the Newcastle one but something I really wanted to see was only at the Cardiff one.

At least this way, it is all in one place.

There was rumour earlier this year of plans for some kind of Dr Who world - a proper theme park, rather than just a static exhibition. This would certainly fit the bill, everything in one place rather than bits or props in random parts of the country.

It's always been made clear the other exhibitions are temporary, so I can see no grounds for grumbling here at all. It's silly to say the one in wales won't be accessible to all. You could make the same argument about everything from Alton Towers to the Eden Project.

Why Wales? It is not a place I go to. Far too wet.

I would have thought it was obvious.

Because that's where the Silurians live? Will they be doing rides in their tunnel lifts ?

They are closing the Newcastle and Lands End exhibitions because they were never meant to be static exhibitions,is the same as they did with the Manchester exhibition and the Spaceport one,they moved those two around the country,the only 2 full time static ones were Blackpool(which closed last year) and Cardiff (which as you say is being closed to make a larger exhibit)

but i agree with the cost being Prohibitive to get to cardiff for those on low incomes

normaly everyting goes to london and i agree that cardiff is the wrong place due to its inaccessability it's better than london getting something else. its the rest of the uk that needs things like this (and a dr who theam park would be a big hit(done right))

I don't see why Cardiff is more inaccessible than anywhere else in the country. It is the capital of Wales with good road and train links.

Where ever you put it you will get people complaining it is too far. Put it in Lands End and you are bound to get someone up in John O'Groats complaining that it is too far for them. Put it in London and people will complain that it is always London that get these things.

Granted, it isn't day trip distance for some of the country. But then none of the country is day trip suitable to everyone. But Cardiff has a lot to offer and can easily be good for a weekend away.

A permanent Doctor Who exhibition in Cardiff seems logical to me. You know, being the place it is made and all that.

Well, my closest one was Cardiff anyway and thats still a two hour drive. But I like the idea of it being bigger. (Sorry Davros ). I was kind of disappointed when I went there the first time. (Three rooms of Doctor who goodness only ) But imagine the budget and props from all three exhibitions in one go! You would be travelling to all of the exhibitions in one go! No doubt I'll still want to go to the one at the moment though. That way I can see improvements when the big one comes along.

Surely people in Wales are saying the same thing about the current exhibition in Land's End?

Cornwall is the end of the country. Wales is closer to the middle of it. Sounds reasonable to me.


What about people in Cardiff on low incomes? It won't ber prohibitive for them. Just as the Land's End exhibition won't be prohibitive for people who live in Land's End.

I went to the Earls Court exhibition, a couple of years back, and it was great fun. I vaguely remember the Longleat one from approx 1989.

There was a fire at the Blackpool one in the 90s: can anyone remember if any of the exhibits were destroyed or damaged?

Since they had no intention of removing the Cardiff Exhibition it wouldn't affect them,but when for example 2 adults and 1 child coming from Glasgow to Cardiff on the train costs over 300 quid(£342.75) based on a open return,and then youve got the costs of Hotel and Spending money on top of that as that's just the train fare(not everyone drives,but saying that National Express want 200 quid for coach journey),quickly looking at the Thomas Cook late deals you can get 7 days in Mamaris for less than the price of the train journey,i find that ridiculous and the train and coach companies are taking the piss

the OP lives down in cornwell. Okay, lets say i wanted to go to the the Eden Project from Kent. What would that cost me?

The point is, where ever something is built it is going to cost more for some to attend than others. Fact of life.

£249.00 return,which just proves my point further the train companies are robbing us blind

It depends on the route you take. I got a train to Manchester a while ago: getting a straightforward return ticket was a lot pricier than getting a ticket from here to the next big city, then another ticket from there to Manchester.

National Rail Enquiries were no fuppin use at all when I asked them about it. I had to queue in my station ticket office for ages, and then have a one-to-one grilling of a ticket person to get the info i needed.

Prices are not very clear. It took a long time to get the right one.

*marvin voice* Theme park? "Dr Who World"? Sounds ghastly.
Just a nice exhibition please. High quality set reconstructions properly lit for atmosphere. With some toys to play with (or "interactive infotainment nodes" or whatever marketing people call them). Don't want to gad about in a "Beast Below" themed whale stomach log flume thanks very much. Or buy an overpriced sandwich from Shockeye's Cafeteria Style Experience.

Shame about travel costs round the UK, but Cardiff is a reasonable place for it. Shame if they can't sustain others, but that'll be a commercial thing. You've my sympathy about moving around and in/out of cornwall on a budget though.

it's not a question of sustaining them, they were always temporary exhibitions, which is what the OP seems not to have understood.

I have to admit, I wasn't aware that the other 2 were only temporary

Even though it will be good to have all 3 exhibitions in one, I still think that the 3 that are going atm allow more people to access them. People in the north of the country would have the Newcastle one, for example.

If the LE & NC exhibits were only meant to be temporary, then the move to Wales is IMO, justified as it's what they always intended. That said, I will be sad to see the Land's end exhibit go.

Thats a shame , I like the Lands End one, it goes right back to series one, and the whole experience is brill, especially the Dalek attack a the end, it always makes me run

I have also been ot the Cardiff one a few times , and although its not as enojoyable, I found it better value as you can go back in as many times as you wish in that one day, unlike Lands End where you have to pay ( a lot) again to bo back in on the same day. The dedicated shop in Cardiff is also much better than the afterthought in Lands End.
Looking forward to the new one opening though lets hope series 1-4 props are still used there.

There were recent news reports about the difficulty of getting the cheapest price - especially from ticket machines but also websites and call centres. It is a disgrace how tricky it is for people to get good advice. My local train station has shut its travel advice centre (area next to ticket windows where you could sit at a desk and go through options with a friendly person who considered it their job to help you). You now see frustrated looking people (eg chuffnobbler) struggling at the ticket windows, queues of angry people just wanting a quick ticket for the next train forming behind them. Doubly bad because a lot of tourists visit here so often it's foreigners desperately trying to make themselves understood through the glass. The train companies, of course, want everyone to use the web or call centres. They define for themselves what they consider to be "progress" and the travel centres, providing what the customer actually wants for years, aren't allowed to be considered. The train companies have been running rings round the regulators recently. I know the train companies would blather about the old travel centres not being commercially optimal, but unlike entertainment exhiitions it's generally accepted there's a "social" element to trains - hence the regulation. (hmmm...general discussion post really. sorry about the rant..


That's what I meant though. They possibly wouldn't be temporary if they were massive cash cows. At least the OP knows now to get a shufty on for the Land's End one.

I always use National Express coaches. Loads cheaper.

And I think the OP should be grateful he's had an exhibition so close for so long. I don't see one in the wilds of Lancashire/Yorkshire.

the temporary exhibitions have been in various locations over the past few years though. If they were not getting a decent return on their money they wouldn't bother would they?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_...ng_exhibitions

I have been to the Lands End one, utterly brilliant, a hundred times better than we though it would be. Our expectations were set by the Cardif one which was a massive disappointment to the entire family.

If Lands End had a decent Who shop, it would be perfect, AND it might have made enough money to stay.

Went to the one in Newcastle twice.

1st time was ok. But TBH I was expecting to see more of Classic Who stuff to be there.

2nd time was a bit naff. Most of the exhibitions had sustained damage and a few of them had covers over them.

I think I may go again in the future if and only if they incorporated some classic stuff in there, and perhaps more interactivity or something. It felt like I was visiting a Tenth Doctor museum.