Ever since I have started working here in Upper Heyford, I have been meaning to take some photos of the old air base which dominated the area until it closed in 1994. Originally, this was an RAF base until it was passed over the the US Air Force in 1950. Although the military are now long gone and a business park has moved into some of the old buildings, there still plenty of reminders of the bustling base. Behind our office is the runway which B52 bombers took off from and in the underground bunkers lay nuclear weapons at the height of the cold war.
There are still secrecy act signs up all over with old chicken wire and cobwebbed barbed wire, even though in most cases, you can access both sides of the wire!
The water towers dominate the otherwise rural landscape.
The American influence can be seen in small places.
As someone who cannot resist taking photos of signs, this was a paradise for me!
It is so regimented here that even the trees have numbers.
The memorial was looking a little sad since the plants were between flowering periods.
The site is a fascinating mix of old rusty buildings…
… and green avenues.
The baseball parks are still used by the British Baseball academy in November each year.
The bleachers have not been used for a while though!
Not much evidence of the original RAF base remains.
And then just two minutes down Camp Road brings you towards to the original Upper Heyford village.
Although they were hiding on this day, usually sheep are grazing on this underground bunker!
Our dinky office. It’s no Leadenhall Street, that’s for sure.
The rest of my pictures can be found on my flickr site.
