Almost 60 years after it came to an end, the Second World War still proves an endless source of fascination to generations of Brits. And Eden Camp taps into this interest by giving visitors a glimpse of what the conflict was like for servicemen, prisoners-of-war and - most of all - ordinary civilians.

Inside the huts of an original prisoner-of-war camp just outside Malton, the sights, sounds, smells and smoke of war are cleverly re-created to transport you back six decades.

In one hut are the scenes of destruction in a house after a bombing raid, a hand reaching despairingly out of the rubble. In another you can see the Bevin boys, the miners who ensured Britain did not run out of coal during the war. Then there's one re-creating life in a submarine under attack in the North Atlantic.

This is history brought to life, and my children loved it - even if some of the sights and sounds proved a little too scary for my eight-year-old daughter.

I had not been to Eden Camp for quite a few years, and I was interested to see how much the museum has been developed and extended over the intervening period.

Several "Millennium projects" have been completed since my last visit, including a hut devoted to the First World War to complete the museum's coverage of 20th century conflict. Here there is an almost inevitable recreation of trench warfare.

Another new display focuses on conflicts since 1945, including ones I've lived through such as the Gulf War, while another hut, entitled the War News Room, apparently features every front page from the Second World War.

I say apparently, because I didn't give us enough time to see the whole of the museum. The organisers advise visitors to allow three to four hours to see everything. We only had an hour and a half.

There's also an intriguing glimpse of life just after the war in one of the era's thousands of prefabs, built to help accommodate people made homeless by bombing raids. Fitted out with all the clothing and furniture of the period, the re-constructed building strongly reminded my wife of childhood visits to her grandparents.

Sadly, on the afternoon of our visit, we could not go inside the hut explaining what life was like for Eden Camp's POWs. A new display is apparently being created for next year, and I wouldn't mind coming back in 2003 to see that - along with the other huts I missed out on this time round.

Fact file

Eden Camp, Malton.

To get there: Take A64 to Malton, and then go 100 yards along A169 to Pickering.

Open: 10am to 5pm, last admissions 4pm.

Admission: Adults £4, children and senior citizens £3.

Disabled access: Yes.

Further information: 01653 697777.

Updated: 09:39 Saturday, August 31, 2002