Woodhall Spa: A Walk on the Wild Side

One thing we like about the Woodhall Spa site is its proximity to some good good walks where we can let the pooch off her lead.

Firstly, there's the "rabbit run" as we name it. So called because it's overrun with zillions of rabbits and pock marked with rabbit holes.

• This route is dead easy to get to: out of the site gate, turn left and about 400 yds on the left is the entrance (past the nature reserve entrance which forbids dogs). The run is essentially a farm track down the side of a field but it does go on for a fair while and gives a walking opportunity of some 30 mins there and back.
• The other route: out of the main gate, turn right down Wellsyke Lane, turn right again at the cross roads where, after about 200yds, is the entrance on the left just off a small lay-by after the dog forbidding nature-reserve gate. About a 10 minute walk from the site entrance.

This walk takes you into a forestry commission pine tree 'plantation', as it was described to us by the site managers. Once inside; there's miles of tracks in and amongst the trees and along their fire-breaks. It's quite easy as we did, to walk about for two and half hours without crossing previously trodden tracks.

Walking through the woods we came across the remnants of an old wartime airfield: common in this part of Lincolnshire.

Parts of the runway were still there as were some of the outbuildings which today look to be used for storage by forestry workers. Despite their remoteness in the woods these buildings must get broken into by thieves quite often judging by the message scrawled on one building's door.

Back at our unit, curiosity got the better of me about this redundant airfield, so I booted up the laptop and googled "WW2 Airfields in Lincolnshire". Sure enough a myriad of websites were presented showing details of the ones local to the camp site.

The one we'd been walking around, was the RAF Woodhall Spa airfield which was used for some time during the second world war by the famous 617 "Dambusters" Squadron. Interesting stuff. Hard to imagine it now, given its demolished and overgrown status and pine tree enclosed location.

Our last full day on the site is drawing to a close. The sun is out again after last nights torrent and the pools of water that threatened to turn the site into a quagmire this morning have drained away.

Tomorrow will be packing up and heading off home.

Until next time.