Near RAF Lyneham, looking west

I had a rather restless night but my dreams were very enjoyable, having a feel rather like the humour of 'Local hero', a favourite film of mine.  On the radio I heard that it was Battle of Britain day and heard that many aircraft of the period would be flying together.  When I got up I looked for some more information online and spotted that a group of six Spitfires and Hurricanes would be flying up from Sussex to Bristol and then turning eastwards to Swindon.

I checked on my local map and deduced that they would be flying over RAF Lyneham which recently closed as an active RAF base, and was mothballed.  So on the spur of the moment I decided to go there and see if I could find a vantage point, although I wasn't certain that they would actually pass that spot.  From the map I found a hillside that looked promising, with a west facing slope and high enough spot approaching planes probably in line with Lyneham's old runway.

On arrival at 12-30pm the ground was just as I'd hoped and the views were promising, despite the shower of rain that greeted me.  The website had said that the planes were expected at Swindon, which was just a few miles further east, by 1pm.  So I set up my gear, took a few practice shots and made a cup of coffee.

The cows were very placid and left me alone to admire the view with the M4 crossing a couple of miles to the right of this picture with the main railway line to Bristol just in front if it.  I watched trains and cars and lorries in the distance, and a few jet planes high in the sky above me.  A sparrowhawk came to check me out and after a while the chorus of birds in the nearby trees returned to normal.

But no spitfires nor Hurricanes came to visit.  I waited for an extra hour in case there was a delay, but I wasn't certain I was even on the right course to see them.  So after a while I returned to the car about half a mile away and headed slowly home, exploring the winding country lanes through various villages and on to Malmesbury and then Tetbury.

When I got home, I checked and found that the whole fleet of planes,  which were heading in a variety of directions around the old wartime airfields, had been delayed by two hours.  So I still don't know if they would have come past me or not.  But I had a good time standing in this spot looking out across the verdant English countryside which was a delight in any case.