It's amazing what we ride over and don't realise.

[PeteXXX]

From the photograph below, just a field with some old abandoned rectangular concrete buildings.

And from the air, courtesy Google maps. (My ride today, in yellow, with a red x roughly where I took the pic.)

Home to the United States Army Air Force during 1944/45, Harrington Airfield, in Northamptonshire, played an extremely important role during WW2. One of the squadrons based there, the 801st Bomb Group, became best known by the code name given to their mission - Carpetbaggers. It involved delivering secret agents and supplies to resistance groups in enemy occupied Europe. These vital, and extremely dangerous, sorties, helped win WW2, as did the other activities carried out by units based here, including bomber offensives and resupplying ground troops with fuel supplies. The airfield later became one of Britain’s important Thor missile nuclear sites during 1959-63.
~Harrington Airfield~

There's loads of WW2 airfields around here, Santa Pod raceway being another, now put to use for drag racing etc.

So much history...

 

[chr15b]

That is pretty cool, did you know about it before your ride or pick up on it afterwards?

Other than the buildings, is there much of the history there to see?

 

[tyred]

There are loads of them around Ballykelly and Limavady.

 

[Oxo]

In Holmpton, near Withensea, a bungalow stands in the middle of a field just away from the village. The only tell tale sign that all is not as it seems is a rather large car park. Underground there are endless tunnels and rooms. It was built during the Cold War and was a fully manned operation and control centre monitoring Russian nuclear activity. It had its own water supply, power supply, air filtration plant etc and was built to be totally self contained in the event of a nuclear attack.
Today it is kept as it was when operational and is used to store RAF archives. It is open to the public on certain days of the year and if you are in the area it is well worth a visit.

 

[Drago]

Friend of mine lives in a house near Hannington field made from converted US airman quarters. Huge garden.

Pete, you want to go find the old Salcey Forest railway station. Remains of the platform can still be found near Horton.

 

[PeteXXX]

That is pretty cool, did you know about it before your ride or pick up on it afterwards?

Other than the buildings, is there much of the history there to see?

I guessed it would be visible from the air. On the ground, all you can see in what's in the first photo. On the road alongside, there's a well tended memorial to the RAF and USAF servicemen. (It's in the horseshoe loop to the east of the southern end of the runway in the pic)
The ~Harrington Museum~ is nearby, but I've not been there when it's open yet.

 

[PeteXXX]

[QUOTE 4638357, member: 76"]What happened north west of Draughton, did you get lost? And why did you cycle up that dead end where you took the picture? I think your ride today has lots of questions [/QUOTE]
I remembered that the road ended up at the A508, not a nice place to ride!!! so I turned back to where I should have chucked a left.

And I cycled up the dead end where I took the picture so could take the picture.. It's a bridleway BTW

 

[PeteXXX]

Pete, you want to go find the old Salcey Forest railway station. Remains of the platform can still be found near Horton.

I shall put that on my list of places to find, thanks

 

[Drago]

If you know where to look you can find remains of WWII gun emplacements in the Forest too. And there's a trig point near the Forest. All sorts.

 

[midlife]

In Holmpton, near Withensea, a bungalow stands in the middle of a field just away from the village. The only tell tale sign that all is not as it seems is a rather large car park. Underground there are endless tunnels and rooms. It was built during the Cold War and was a fully manned operation and control centre monitoring Russian nuclear activity. It had its own water supply, power supply, air filtration plant etc and was built to be totally self contained in the event of a nuclear attack.
Today it is kept as it was when operational and is used to store RAF archives. It is open to the public on certain days of the year and if you are in the area it is well worth a visit.

I lived in Hull and went to Withernsea a lot in the 60's and 70's and never knew that was there, thanks for the info

Shaun

 

[biggs682]

Friend of mine lives in a house near Hannington field made from converted US airman quarters. Huge garden.

Pete, you want to go find the old Salcey Forest railway station. Remains of the platform can still be found near Horton.

Just down the road from the Army cadet posh building

 

[Drago]

That's it, a few hundred yards from the new MoD buildings on Yardley Chase.

 

[lazybloke]

There's loads of WW2 airfields around here

Abandoned airfields are fun. Have probably mentioned the former RAF Wisley previously; here's a ride I did once...

 

[PeteXXX]

Abandoned airfields are fun. Have probably mentioned the former RAF Wisley previously; here's a ride I did once...



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Love the 'loop the loop' half way along

 

[Bollo]

In Holmpton, near Withensea, a bungalow stands in the middle of a field just away from the village. The only tell tale sign that all is not as it seems is a rather large car park. Underground there are endless tunnels and rooms. It was built during the Cold War and was a fully manned operation and control centre monitoring Russian nuclear activity. It had its own water supply, power supply, air filtration plant etc and was built to be totally self contained in the event of a nuclear attack.
Today it is kept as it was when operational and is used to store RAF archives. It is open to the public on certain days of the year and if you are in the area it is well worth a visit.

Wow, guess where I was born? Not strictly, as I popped out in Hull General, but my dad was stationed at RAF Patrington (aka RAF Holmpton) in the late '60s, so my first few years were spent there. Pa Bollo was a scopie (radar operator) so spent most of his service time down holes or in bunkers waiting for WWIII to kick off. I'll ask him about it next time we speak.