Woodhall - Day 3 (The End)

Packing up the ‘van was a leisurely job as my visit for the day, Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre didn’t, according to the website, open until ten and wasn’t far away. When I arrived I found they opened at half nine but it didn’t matter. First order of the day was a visit to the NAAFI for breakfast, a fresh cooked bacon and egg baguette. 

The Centre only really has two planes on show, but what a two! The star is Just Jane, a 1945 Lancaster, the other is a Mosquito. The latter is really the forgotten hero of WW II planes, a night-fighter, light bomber, pathfinder, photo reconnaissance plane, etc. 

There are plenty of buildings and displays to look round as well, although I’m not sure how many visitors actually went round them as the main event was due. 

Just Jane isn’t a static exhibit, although it isn’t airworthy (yet) it is licensed for taxy rides. I’ll put the video up when edited but to get the full effect you’ll need a decent amplifier and a couple of large bass bins, all turned up to 11! When they run the engines up to full power it is very, very noisy. 

Now you will notice a bit of a problem, Jane is missing the end of her wings for practicality with the taxy rides. 

The drive home was no problem and unloading only took a few minutes given that I’d only been away a couple of days. Driving through Lincolnshire I was surprised how many place names I recognised as former RAF stations, it wasn’t called Bomber County for nothing. Of course as mentioned in a previous blog there’s a danger of glorifying war, the Chapel is an antidote, as is this Mike Harding song, the video l’ve found coincidentally includes Just Jane. 

Woodhall- Day 2

There’s not really a lot to report! 

After breakfast I wandered down to the town and had a look round, spending some time photographing the Dambusters Memorial. The sun wasn’t really in the best place and I did go back later in the day for a couple more photos. 

Coffee and a tea cake were, eventually, procured after my debit card wouldn’t authorise, which is always a bit worrying. It was fairly clear it was a computer glitch somewhere and Apple Pay worked after another short delay. The debit card worked fine later in the day, putting my mind at ease. 

Another wander followed and a sit down by the only extant remains of one of Woodhall’s railways, before I decided it was beer o’clock. 

The track clearly isn’t original but the path follows a line of old sleepers. 

The first of the friends I was meeting arrived as I was most of the way down a pint so we found our restaurant table and basically spent the next few hours chatting, eating and drinking. The gammon steak was quite salty, which wouldn’t suit a lot of people, but it was all well cooked and tasty; the other dishes looked good as well. 

Having gone our separate ways I took a few more photos then strolled back through the woods to the caravan site. Woodhall is a nice small town (or large village, not sure which) and I got quite a few good mornings from people in passing which is always a good sign. There’s a surprising amount of green space with a few small pockets where you can sit for a while, as well as the extensive woods and the larger Jubilee Park. I’ll happily return again if we have another event here. 

Woodhall - Day 1

I’m out for a couple of days in the ‘van at Woodhall Spa. I should have been in Scotland but the later removal of social distancing regulations there resulted in the main reason for going, a meeting up with about 30 TOGs, being postponed for a further year (it should have taken place in 2020). 

As an alternative a few small events have been organised and I’m meeting a few friends for lunch in the town. Fortunately there are a couple of caravan sites right on the edge of Woodhall in Jubilee Park. One is council run, the other private, the former being significantly cheaper so that’s where I am! It’s still £54 for two nights with I think is about the most I’ve ever paid. It’s not a spot I would choose normally, It’s very open and my pitch backs directly onto the main car park near the swimming pool but it looks like everything has gone quiet. It’ll do for the purpose and it’s only a short walk into the centre. 

Looking for things to do on the journey I noticed that not far from Woodhall is the Bubblecar and Microcar Museum which I thought would merit a visit. It does what it says on the tin, with a few motorbikes thrown on for good measure. At £6 including a decent mug of coffee and a very much home produced (and full of errors) guidebook though I’m certainly not complaining! It was an interesting diversion and chance to stretch my legs. 

Arrival at the caravan site was very smooth, one of the wardens checked on his list and guided me to my pitch then came back a few minutes later with the site leaflet and details. 

The second Museum of the day followed as soon as that was sorted as it isn’t open tomorrow. The Cottage Museum tells the story of the Spa and the area, including a display on the railways and also on the RAF station. This was a satellite station to RAF Conningsby, it became the home of 617 Squadron, The Dambusters, in January 1944 and they remained there until the end of the war. It was from Woodhall that they pioneered the use of the Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs, designed by Barnes Wallis as “earthquake” bombs to target bridges and viaducts as well as heavy defences which had proved invulnerable to conventional bombing. 

The cottage itself was lived in by a family who provided bath chairs for Spa visitors, conveying them from the station to the hotels then to the spa itself for treatments. 

As is often the case with volunteer run museums it’s very friendly, almost too much so when you really just want to wander round and look at the displays, and was worth the visit. I walked back through the woods to the caravan site passing The Tea House in the Woods and the Kinema in the Woods. There was a long queue for the former otherwise I’d have had a coffee. The Kinema dates back to 1922 and is currently showing The Suicide Squad - I don’t think I’ll bother!