Alistair Hardaker | Image: The Box, Plymouth
The Box has welcomed 278,820 visits in 2025-26, surpassing its previous record with six weeks remaining in the financial year.
The Box has recorded its busiest year since opening in 2020, one month after launching its ‘Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy’ exhibition.
The Plymouth venue has welcomed 278,820 visits so far in 2025-26, surpassing its previous annual record of 272,266, with six weeks still to go until the end of the current financial year.
The museum experienced its five busiest days on record last week, peaking on Thursday 19 February with 3,685 visits. It also recorded its busiest-ever week with 20,233 visits, well above the previous weekly high of 15,725.
February half term, which ran from 14 to 22 February, saw 26,289 visits, more than double last year’s total for the same period. Retail was up by 275 per cent and catering was up by 60 per cent compared with February half term 2025.
Councillor Jemima Laing, Deputy Leader of Plymouth City Council, said the figures were “amazing to see and very well deserved too”.
I’m incredibly proud of The Box, the team of staff and volunteers who make it the place it is, and the calibre of what happens there. The current exhibitions are world-class, and I urge anyone who hasn’t yet visited to make sure they do – even if it’s just to have a coffee in its fabulous café!”
The Box is approaching its next target of 300,000 visits by 31 March 2026. ‘Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy’ continues until 31 May and ‘Journeys with Mai’, which features a portrait of the first Polynesian to visit Britain by Plympton-born Sir Joshua Reynolds, runs until 14 June.
