Finmere (Airfield Walk)

We parked up next to the entrance to the Microlight Flying Centre. With the dogs on the leads we headed towards the dual carriageway and turned up the stairs going onto the Bernwood Jubilee Way. We climbed over the stile and along a gravel path towards another stile we walked over the grass towards the runway luckily there where no microlights flying about. Looking up and down the runway I kept thinking about the Bristol Blenheim Mk 1, Mk 4 bombers landing and taking off from here also the occasional Spitfire and Tempest it felt like walking on history. We carried on towards the old air control tower which is what we came here to see. After the lengthy walk over the fields we made it to the control tower. We went inside and saw the state it was in it was like being on

a movie set for the end of the world with the scrap yard outside the windows and the mess inside. The walls and floor were partly covered with moss and a constant dripping in the background but wasn't as annoying as the alarm going off at the radio tower outside. After we finished looking around we got out and 2 helicopters flew over I guess going to Croughton airbase. We headed for the forest in hope of seeing more buildings. In the woods we found a paint ball range good thing no one was around or we would have come home multi-coloured. As we went further in we saw a missile we went to have a closer look and saw some more at the back of the woods. We carried on down through the woods and saw an old plane wings taken off but some of the controls still left inside. After a mess around we went even further through the woods and found a model submarine it was enormous bigger than the plane. We spent ages looking around here and picking up paint ball bullets. We finally gave up after about 3 hours. Click for A bit of history of RAF Finmere.

Geocache: RAF Finmere (GC2V1Q9)

SP 653 323 (OS Grid Reference)

51.985362,-1.051372 (Google Maps)

N 51 59.122 W 001 03.082 (GPS Co-ords)

Chedworth (Airfield Walk)

When we arrived we parked up on a muddy lay-by and had a look for a geocache called the “The Bunker” we searched on both sides of the road, on one side of the road it was full of trenches going down about 3-4 foot. But in the end we couldn't find it. What we did find was the bunker the geocache was hinting ,to my mum went ahead of me because I had to put my walking boots on and she went down the stairs into the bunker and didn't go much further than the bottom step because it was flooded inside and then I had a look it is very eerie inside no light just darkness so we kept looking round outside and she found a hatch with an old  metal ladder going down in to it and it was dry at the bottom so I went in and she stayed out with the dogs. I went in and had a look round the turret there wasn't anything inside but I found it incredible because you can see a lot all around you through such small gaps. I took some photos from inside but my camera isn't very good the lens was a bit messy (Sorry for some of the bad quality photos). 

I walked out of the turret and walked to my right into the darkness but couldn't get very far because of the flooded floors but I took some photos from where I stood. I then climbed back out and we walked along the road towards the footpath we walked along the concrete towards the woods. Part way along the bridleway we saw some of the original concrete runway. We kept walking towards the forest and when we got inside we found it to be very muddy good thing I bought new walking boots. We walked a bit further and Floyd disappeared we shouted him for a while when he finally came back he was worn out so we had to turn back. Hearing the echo of us shouting sounded great it just went on for ages almost frightening and seeing the trees so high up in the sky. We got back to the car and drove home we went a different way back to the way we came and on the road back we saw the old building of RAF Chedworth and we might come back here in the summer to explore more. It is quite a distance to the woods but a short walk if you want to stick to a dry walk.

Geocaches: The Bunker (GC2EDH2)

Google Maps: 51.81048,-1.93993 

Sat Nav: N 51 48.629 W 001 56.396