great trip to lincoln … part 3

This is the final part of the Blog post following our trip to Lincoln.  I wrote in Part 1 about the super accommodation we had stayed in close to the cathedral quarter and then in Part 2 about our visits to the Bomber Command Centre and the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, but it was our final day that was probably the highlight of the trip when we drove the few miles from Lincoln to call at RAF Scampton to visit the Heritage Centre.

As RAF Scampton is an operational air base, visits there must be pre-arranged. It’s pretty easy to do that, but demand, availability and the fact that it’s only small groups at any one time mean that if it is the sort of thing that you want to do then you need to make plans in advance – you simply cant just turn up on the day.

RAF Scampton was the home of 617 Squadron (The Dambusters) and if thats a story you have any interest in then this is a mus visit place.

The Heritage Centre is run by volunteers, and our guide was as enthusiastic as he was knowledgeable – there’s a good collection of historical artifacts that lend to the story of the airbase and not surprisingly there is a significant chunk of the visit given over to Guy Gibson and the background, story and aftermath of the Dambuster Raids, we found it truly fascinating and and there was a lot to take in.

During the visit we were able to visit Guy Gibsons office and sit at his desk as well as handle and  touch a whole range of things including the ‘Y’ shaped bomb aimer that was used to establish the correct range for releasing the ‘bouncing bomb’

The airbase is also home to the RAF Aerobatic Team – The Red Arrows, and although not the primary focus of the visit it was neat to see the Hawk aircraft being pushed out ready for practice and then to see four of them training overhead.

The latter part of the visit provided an opportunity that was just too good to miss, and my wife and I both enjoyed the experience of sitting inside one of the Red Arrow Hawk aircraft before a quick walk round a new display that commemorates 100 years of the RAF.

My parents, wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to RAF Scampton (which took the best part of three hours) which really did top off a great few days in Lincoln.

After that it was a longish drive back from Lincoln to Manchester via Cardiff – all in all a cracking short break.

You can see Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

 

• Days out