RAF - Ibsley - Hampshire

Ibsley Control Tower.Ibsley was a very busy RAF airfield in the last great war. It was the location for a morale-boosting wartime movie starring David Niven, and was taken over by the Americans in 1943. Ibsley played a major role in the D-Day invasion. It survived for precious few years, the airfield having been lost, almost entirely, to gravel abstraction. All that is left is a ruined control tower surrounded by lakes.
Ibsley Historical Group have their base behind The Old Schoolhouse South Gorley. Their Open Day is the first weekend in August. Many of the buildings they use are old WWII structures.

Shaftesbury Abbey Project.

Our second visit to Shaftesbury Abbey and Museum in July.

At 08:30am sharp, we set up our mast in the grounds of the Abbey. The weather was cloudy at first but soon changed sunny. We managed twp positions taking photographs of the ruined Abbey and the Herb garden. Hot cup of coffee and we was packing up our equipment and heading towards to the museum.

Pity we couldn’t see the Gold Hill from where we set up the mast. The sun was shining and we took some lovely photographs of the museum and the surrounding buildings. Packed up and burned off the disc before 10am. Walking back to the car I handed out brochures to the local estate agents.

Abbey House Gardens

After our visit to Abbey House Gardens in June, we came back to photograph the Gardens in July.
The owner Mr Ian Pollard asked to come as early as 5am. So with an early start we arrived at 06:45am. Set up Mast on the Upper Lawn to take our photographs.
The past week the weather has been unsettled and on our first visit it rained but this time it held off while we photographed these lovely gardens. Three and a half hours later we finished our work and had a lovely cup of tea, burned off two discs and handed them over to the owners. We had some odd showers but also some sunny spells.

Bow Construction Ltd

Monday 6th July: Waking at 05:30am, a quick breakfast we made our way to Shrewsbury. Arrived at 7am and set up Mast on the Battlefield Enterprise Park. Weather report has said clouds!

The work force turned up early with clean vans except the boss! At 07:30am it started to rain. Our worst nightmare! All that way(5 hour drive plus sleep over) and it rains. The men were ready to set off for their work.

Lucky the rain stopped and we managed to photograph the vans in front of their office building. By 09:00am was ready to return home. After a few stops, we was home by 5pm.

RAF - Hullavington - Wiltshire

Hullavington RAF Base. Still used for training by the MOD. Army camp next to airfield. Not much more information. Just passing by in the car and noticed these large hangers covered in grass.Private land.

RAF - Ibsley - Hampshire

Ibsley airfield was the first of the airfields built in the Avon valley of Hampshire and the only fighter station in the area to have asphalt-surfaced runways. It was originally surveyed before the war but passed over until approved as a satellite and forward base for RAF Middle Wallop during 1940.

Taking on my Sony Ericisson C905 mobile phone

With the end of military control, the land (complete with runways, perimeter track, etc.) was handed back to the land owner, Lord Normanton, and his tenant, Mr W. Samson. Like some other Air Ministry sites of the era, Ibsley was to become a motor racing circuit being managed by the Ringwood Motor Cycle and Light Car Club. After an extended period of construction (mostly done by volunteer labor), the first racing event at Ibsley was held on 17 May 1951.

The various types of motor racing continued until 1955 and the land was turned into agricultural use for several years. In the early 1960s, Ibsley was sold to Amey Roadstone, which removed the existing concrete and whatever was left of the airfield hardstands for hardcore aggregate. In addition, the entire site was turned into a quarry to exploit the rich aggregate found beneath the surface.
Today, the former RAF Ibsley is unrecognizeable. The airfield consists mostly of a series of gravel pits and large landscaped lakes. One lake being overlooked by the derelict, windowless control tower. A small memorial is located near the control tower

The Westbury White Horse

The origin of the Westbury White Horse is obscure. It is often claimed to commemorate King Alfred’s victory at the Battle of Eðandun in 878, and while this is not impossible, there is no trace of such a legend before the second half of the eighteenth century. It should also be noted that the battle of Eðandun has only tentatively been identified with Edington in Wiltshire.