Bunker

We live not far from the old RAF Upper Heyford base and this morning I took a drive to a back corner of the perimeter fence to try and get a picture of the sun coming up over the old hangers. After a brief chat with some farmers who were wondering what I was up to, I got this picture.

These giant concrete hangers used to house the USAF F111's that Regan sent to bomb Gaddafi in 1986. They have huge concrete exhaust ducts at the back of them to allow the aircraft to be fired up and come out of the hangers under their own power. It must have been something to see in its day, and I guess you wouldn't want to really be in there if one was running, probably a bit hot and noisy!

The airbase is now used for all manner of variety of businesses, from runways full of unsold cars, taxiways used by Thames Valley Police for driver training to all manner of old buildings rented out to start up businesses. It still has a lot of its USAF character, but is very much a shadow of its former self.