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Visited on New Years Eve with Zimbob.
This was a WW2 Operational Training Unit. The excerpt below is from "Royal Air Force Organisational History"
"No 4 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit
This OTU provided Flying Boat crews for Coastal Command and was formed within No 17 Group at Stranraer on 16 Mar 1941 having previously been designated the Flying Boat Training Squadron. Equipped with Singapore IIIs initially, these were later supplemented with Stranraers, Catalinas and Lerwicks.
In June 1941 the unit moved to Invergordon and in December Sunderlands arrived. In February 1942 the tasks of the unit were split into two with initial training being carried out at Stranraer and operational training remaining at Invergordon but in November the Stranraer element returned to Invergordon following expansion of the station, which was renamed Alness in February 1943. In Oct 1943 the Catalinas were transferred to No 131 OTU, leaving No 4 to concentrate on Sunderland training. From September 1944, land based support aircraft were operated from Evanton and later Tain. The OTU re-located south to Pembroke Dock in August 1946 and disbanded on being re-designated No 235 OCU on 31 July 1947."
The site does not appear to have housed a runway, although RAF Evanton is a site adjacent to this which DID have runways. Most of the site has been flattened, and it is very popular with dog walkers. RAF Alness was home mainly to flying boats and has seen Lerwick, Stranraer, London but most famously Catalina and Sunderland flying boats.
It was a balmy day for the time of year and I spent most of it in my T-shirt
First a few Anderson Shelters
I know it's New Years Eve, but where is Zimbob off to?
Solitary pitched roof structure. Red-brick built, but rendered externally
Nature has really taken over this site
We have seen a couple of these before. Generator housings, complete with spikes or broken glass along the ridge to deter intruders. What we found particularly interesting about the whole site was the poor quality of the bricks. Every structure has very decaying brickwork.
There were many of these plinths scattered around. We assume they were bases for wood burning stoves. This one was still iced over.
Toilet block. (Note tree growing from soil pipe!)
Spooky house in the trees, we could not confirm if this was related or not, but it was well sealed up. Also it was on distillery property so ever so slightly out of bounds
Anchor points for the Sunderland Flying Boats (The second viewed from the first)
Tower ar the point
Tower from the remains of the jetty
Remains of the jetty
Warning Inside!?!?!?!
Dalmore Distillery from Tower
Former HMS Invergordon (Centre left) with North and South Sutor in the backgound
The internal of the pitched roof structure pictured earlier *Note the rope hanging from the rafters!*
Too late now!
Not sure the purpose of this, the grooves would have had wood in them (I think the piece on the left is original)
Smashed ramps covering inspection pit
And the other two
Rusty Bolt
This was a WW2 Operational Training Unit. The excerpt below is from "Royal Air Force Organisational History"
"No 4 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit
This OTU provided Flying Boat crews for Coastal Command and was formed within No 17 Group at Stranraer on 16 Mar 1941 having previously been designated the Flying Boat Training Squadron. Equipped with Singapore IIIs initially, these were later supplemented with Stranraers, Catalinas and Lerwicks.
In June 1941 the unit moved to Invergordon and in December Sunderlands arrived. In February 1942 the tasks of the unit were split into two with initial training being carried out at Stranraer and operational training remaining at Invergordon but in November the Stranraer element returned to Invergordon following expansion of the station, which was renamed Alness in February 1943. In Oct 1943 the Catalinas were transferred to No 131 OTU, leaving No 4 to concentrate on Sunderland training. From September 1944, land based support aircraft were operated from Evanton and later Tain. The OTU re-located south to Pembroke Dock in August 1946 and disbanded on being re-designated No 235 OCU on 31 July 1947."
The site does not appear to have housed a runway, although RAF Evanton is a site adjacent to this which DID have runways. Most of the site has been flattened, and it is very popular with dog walkers. RAF Alness was home mainly to flying boats and has seen Lerwick, Stranraer, London but most famously Catalina and Sunderland flying boats.
It was a balmy day for the time of year and I spent most of it in my T-shirt
First a few Anderson Shelters
I know it's New Years Eve, but where is Zimbob off to?
Solitary pitched roof structure. Red-brick built, but rendered externally
Nature has really taken over this site
We have seen a couple of these before. Generator housings, complete with spikes or broken glass along the ridge to deter intruders. What we found particularly interesting about the whole site was the poor quality of the bricks. Every structure has very decaying brickwork.
There were many of these plinths scattered around. We assume they were bases for wood burning stoves. This one was still iced over.
Toilet block. (Note tree growing from soil pipe!)
Spooky house in the trees, we could not confirm if this was related or not, but it was well sealed up. Also it was on distillery property so ever so slightly out of bounds
Anchor points for the Sunderland Flying Boats (The second viewed from the first)
Tower ar the point
Tower from the remains of the jetty
Remains of the jetty
Warning Inside!?!?!?!
Dalmore Distillery from Tower
Former HMS Invergordon (Centre left) with North and South Sutor in the backgound
The internal of the pitched roof structure pictured earlier *Note the rope hanging from the rafters!*
Too late now!
Not sure the purpose of this, the grooves would have had wood in them (I think the piece on the left is original)
Smashed ramps covering inspection pit
And the other two
Rusty Bolt
