Alan Hinkes is Club member and mountaineer, the first and only Briton to have summited all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks. Here he recalls his first camp on a Club Site during a memorable visit to the Lincolnshire Aviaition Heritage Centre in East Kirkby.
My camping started in North Yorkshire and Cumbria as a schoolboy in canvas single skin tents. Since then I have spent a lot of time in tents, camping in some of the most remote and inhospitable places on the planet, such as Everest, K2 and other Himalayan peaks, the Arctic and, in contrast, 45C temperatures in the Middle East.
Recently the opportunity cropped up for me to camp on a Club Site for the very first time. This was at Woodhall Spa Club Site in Lincolnshire. My mission while I was there was to visit the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre and a still-mobile Avro Lancaster bomber nearby in East Kirkby. I was to be given the privilege of a short taxi-way trundle in this iconic British warbird. What a fabulous way to fully appreciate the heroics of the Royal Air Force in its 100th year.
The experience is open to the general public, but enjoying a taxi around the airfield in the Lancaster costs a pretty penny at £335. I was a guest and therefore able to enjoy the full day-long ‘VIP package’, normally £395.
After a long drive from Cumbria through Yorkshire to the big skies of Lincolnshire I arrived after 8pm to collect the information about my pitch. The entrance seemed pleasant and welcoming with a couple of people walking dogs on a lead, folk chilling on their pitch and children happily playing. All in all a rather serene ambience, if first impressions count. Then I was captivated by the decorum. The site is well away from a main road, the only sound you might hear if you are lucky is the distant roar of Typhoons landing and taking off from nearby RAF Coningsby (the viewing area there is worth a visit if you like fast jets).
The barrier lifted and I drove slowly past motorhomes, caravans and big family tents to the grass-only field to pitch my small tent. The grass was short and the area flat – sheer luxury I thought as I snuggled into my tent and exhaled a few sighs of pleasure at the tranquillity. It was a stark contrast to being perched on a mountain ledge with a 3,000m drop and no toilet block. There was a short spell of rain in the early morning, and listening to it added to my pleasure as I drank my first mug of tea.
Once up and about I managed a shower before it got busy and prepared for the short drive to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre and the NX611 Lancaster Bomber ‘Just Jane’.
The next few hours would be spent hearing the aircraft’s Merlin engines roar into life, and taxiing over the old Second World War airfield. Sadly it does not take off (there’s only one remaining flying example of the plane) although there is currently a restoration fund in place and one day she may fly again.
The experience of being in such an iconic aircraft was truly memorable. It’s the only place in Europe that the public can enter this aircraft, and it brought home the reality of what our service personnel had to endure in the skies over Europe almost 80 years ago.
I’m not one for stuffy museums, but this site at East Kirkby is different. There are 1940s Nissen huts and a control tower with nostalgic 1940s music and announcements playing gently over speakers, immersing you in the whole experience.
There is so much of interest to learn about Second World War bombing missions. Did you know a Lancaster bomber often only lasted 40 hours? And the life expectancy of a rear gunner does not bear thinking about.
It is a privately-owned museum. I recommend trying the café (NAAFI) with tasty home-made lunches, cakes and good coffee. The staff and crew are enthusiastic, friendly and engaging and no matter how many inane, repetitive questions they are asked, they still keep smiling.
It is a great day or half day out. I am normally in more hilly country, but I really enjoyed the flat terrain of the ‘Bomber County’ and a nice flat Club Site on which to spend the night.
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Call or email the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre on 01790 763207.
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It’s open Monday to Saturday with taxi runs usually on Tuesday and Thursday. Sometimes extra runs are scheduled so it’s worth checking in advance.
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Prices for a taxi experience in the Lancaster start at £335.