Not really sure if this qualifies as Urbex or not, as you can just drive onto the runways... Probably private, but fair game with no signs or fences 🤷🏻♂️
Can't beat an old RAF airfield, and this one hasn't been posted much or recently. It was my first proper outing with the drone too, so thought it'll be worth a report.
Loads left as far as old RAF airfields go, it's a shame the runways are in such rough shape though, be nice to drive along otherwise...
The History
The land for the airfield was acquired in 1941, with construction taking place in 1942. It was built by a consortium of contractors working under the Air Ministry Works Department. It was built on moorland that served as the water catchment area for the River Fowey, so many miles of drainage pipes had to be laid to keep the land dry.
It was a Class A Aerodrome, thus requiring a lot of manpower and material to construct (at one point 1/3 of Britain's construction manpower was dedicated to building aerodromes). The main runway was 2000 yards long, and the other two were 1425 yards, with all three being 50 yards wide, as was standard for a Class A Bomber airfield.
It was located 970 feet above sea level, so didn't suffer from sea fog, allowing it to remain operational when other coastal airfields had to cease flying.
RAF Davidstow Moor was used by the Coastal Command 19 Group, who's responsibilities included Air Sea Rescue, U-boat Hunting, and Antishipping Patrols.
The site closed in December 1945, and was converted into a racing circuit, which was known as Davidstow Circuit. It was a short-lived venture, running from 1952 to 1955, but it did host three Formula One level races. The races were known as the Cornwall MRC, a non championship racing series being run according to F1 rules. Two of these races occurred in 1954, and one in 1955.
All the competing cars were obsolete Formula Two cars, with the exception of the the F1 car of Leslie Marr, which was a collaboration between Connaught Engineering, and Lotus. It achieved a comfortable victory in the 1955 race, which marked the first F1 victories for both Connaught and Lotus. The events were very small, with 7 cars participating in the inaugural event, and 6 in the subsequent two races. The circuit was abandoned after the last race.
The Explore
Access is as simple as choosing a spot to park on a runway, which you can access from the road going through the middle of the site. Just drive slow, or risk destroying your wheels and suspension, as the surface is in a dire state. I was lazy and drove between spots, starting by the Control Tower.
Not much to be seen really, just your run of the mill control tower, mostly Graff inside -
Made my way over to the main complex of remaining buildings, which were surrounded by a load of sheep, and the accompanying level of shit everywhere.
Parked a distance away so as to not spook them, somebody on the road had pulled over and taken an interest in watching me by this point, stayed there for the half hour I was wandering about, maybe it was the farmer, I have no idea. Pretty sure the main runway is used occasionally by gliders, so maybe that was why 🤔
Everything is mostly ruins, with the odd bit of Graff dotted around, some of it wasn't too bad at least.
Graff -
The large ish building that has been climbed in previous reports is sealed up, with signage suggesting the site is being looked after by a local RAF group.
Plenty of holes to shove a camera through at least -
View of the upper level from below...
View from above...
Drove further down the road to see if there was anything else worth looking at, and found the remains of what was probably a generator room, judging from the plinths for machinery. No photos here, the sheep call it home now, which has resulted in the floor being carpeted in a thick layer of shit.
Finished up by finding my way to the Firing Range, I clocked it on the way in, was just a case of finding nearby parking and a way to it. The wall is completely intact, and the foundations of the firing positions can also be found in what is now a heavily forested area.
Firing Position Foundation -
Drone Shots -
Not a bad view...
The vast majority of the Dispersal Points remain extant around the site, you can see a few amongst the trees in the first shot. I unfortunately didn't send the drone to get a decent shot of them, there's two large groups at the southern end of the airfield.
Thanks for looking 👌🏻
Can't beat an old RAF airfield, and this one hasn't been posted much or recently. It was my first proper outing with the drone too, so thought it'll be worth a report.
Loads left as far as old RAF airfields go, it's a shame the runways are in such rough shape though, be nice to drive along otherwise...
The History
The land for the airfield was acquired in 1941, with construction taking place in 1942. It was built by a consortium of contractors working under the Air Ministry Works Department. It was built on moorland that served as the water catchment area for the River Fowey, so many miles of drainage pipes had to be laid to keep the land dry.
It was a Class A Aerodrome, thus requiring a lot of manpower and material to construct (at one point 1/3 of Britain's construction manpower was dedicated to building aerodromes). The main runway was 2000 yards long, and the other two were 1425 yards, with all three being 50 yards wide, as was standard for a Class A Bomber airfield.
It was located 970 feet above sea level, so didn't suffer from sea fog, allowing it to remain operational when other coastal airfields had to cease flying.
RAF Davidstow Moor was used by the Coastal Command 19 Group, who's responsibilities included Air Sea Rescue, U-boat Hunting, and Antishipping Patrols.
The site closed in December 1945, and was converted into a racing circuit, which was known as Davidstow Circuit. It was a short-lived venture, running from 1952 to 1955, but it did host three Formula One level races. The races were known as the Cornwall MRC, a non championship racing series being run according to F1 rules. Two of these races occurred in 1954, and one in 1955.
All the competing cars were obsolete Formula Two cars, with the exception of the the F1 car of Leslie Marr, which was a collaboration between Connaught Engineering, and Lotus. It achieved a comfortable victory in the 1955 race, which marked the first F1 victories for both Connaught and Lotus. The events were very small, with 7 cars participating in the inaugural event, and 6 in the subsequent two races. The circuit was abandoned after the last race.
The Explore
Access is as simple as choosing a spot to park on a runway, which you can access from the road going through the middle of the site. Just drive slow, or risk destroying your wheels and suspension, as the surface is in a dire state. I was lazy and drove between spots, starting by the Control Tower.
Not much to be seen really, just your run of the mill control tower, mostly Graff inside -
Made my way over to the main complex of remaining buildings, which were surrounded by a load of sheep, and the accompanying level of shit everywhere.
Parked a distance away so as to not spook them, somebody on the road had pulled over and taken an interest in watching me by this point, stayed there for the half hour I was wandering about, maybe it was the farmer, I have no idea. Pretty sure the main runway is used occasionally by gliders, so maybe that was why 🤔
Everything is mostly ruins, with the odd bit of Graff dotted around, some of it wasn't too bad at least.
Graff -
The large ish building that has been climbed in previous reports is sealed up, with signage suggesting the site is being looked after by a local RAF group.
Plenty of holes to shove a camera through at least -
View of the upper level from below...
View from above...
Drove further down the road to see if there was anything else worth looking at, and found the remains of what was probably a generator room, judging from the plinths for machinery. No photos here, the sheep call it home now, which has resulted in the floor being carpeted in a thick layer of shit.
Finished up by finding my way to the Firing Range, I clocked it on the way in, was just a case of finding nearby parking and a way to it. The wall is completely intact, and the foundations of the firing positions can also be found in what is now a heavily forested area.
Firing Position Foundation -
Drone Shots -
The vast majority of the Dispersal Points remain extant around the site, you can see a few amongst the trees in the first shot. I unfortunately didn't send the drone to get a decent shot of them, there's two large groups at the southern end of the airfield.
Thanks for looking 👌🏻
