| Compton Abbas Airfield (Map reference: 5058.03, 00209.22)
is greatly blessed by its scenic environment. Positioned near the
summit of Spread Eagle Hill in the Cranbourne Chase the views are truly
magnificent. One can sit eating lunch in the restaurant whilst viewing
Shaftesbury on the horizon across rolling green hills and valleys.
It has to be the prettiest airfield in Europe (or so someone with more
experience of such things than myself once remarked).
The food in the restaurant is great and the staff
are cheerful and helpful (and I say that without being related to
any of them). The Cranbourne Chase is a challenging but rewarding
area to test your cycling skills and stamina. The restaurant
at Compton Abbas Airfield is a welcome refuelling stop.
Parking is free and usually more than adequate.
The only time I have seen the car park overflow is when attending one the
various air shows. Even so I found somewhere to stuff my car (and
it was well worth the effort).
For the aircraft enthusiast there is one really exceptional
joy. Aircraft take off and land just a few tens of metres from the
restaurant's windows. I have attended airfields where even with binoculars
it is difficult to see the action. Not at Compton Abbas.
A friend who recently died at the age of 103 always said
that he had lived through three Englands. The one before the First
World War; the one after the Second World War and the one between
the Wars. Fortunate to be in work, he said that his favourite was
the one between the Wars. He often described the quiet; self-confident
mood of his friends at the time. Without any fuss they got things
done. Life was genteel and never flashy. These might
be the too rosy recollections of a Centenarian somewhat disillusioned with
modern life, but the ambience of Compton Abbas Airfield so fits what he
described of his England at its best. If you are confused or have
forgotten what England is all about you need only sit out on the visitors'
patio on a fine day in June to be reminded.
Nonetheless Compton Abbas Airfield is not a museum piece.
Somehow it manages to be both a busy private airfield and at the
same time give the impression that, like the bordering woods and
hills, it has always been there. Slap bang at the heart of an area
of exceptional natural beauty it is an example of how to best integrate
technology with its environment. You would think that an airfield
would be a smelly blot on an otherwise beautiful countryside. Not
a bit of it. What the secret is I know not, but it seems as natural
a part of the scene as the skylarks that soar overhead.
Finally, you could even learn to fly.
To email Compton Abbas Airfield management click
here
To email the Yakovlev Display Team click here
To find your way there by road see the map below
(Inspired by the London Underground map). |
