Lincolnshire is rightly famous for its rich aviation heritage. By basing a tour in Lincoln, you’re in easy reach of the key sites, with a gem of a medieval city at your group’s feet
Next year is the centenary of not only the end of the Great War, but also the founding of the Royal Air Force, and there’s no better place to celebrate this anniversary than in Lincolnshire, the heart of British aviation.
At its peak, Lincoln was one of the largest aircraft production areas in the world, turning out over 3,500 aircraft and 3,000 aero engines. Today the city is home to the Red Arrows aerobatic display team, the International Bomber Command Memorial, the new RAF Scampton Airshow, and many operating RAF bases – and with the city itself so full of attractions, history and other places of interest, it’s a good base for an aviation-themed itinerary.
Out into the airfields
RAF Scampton lies six miles outside of Lincoln, and it’s well worth a visit: Home of the Red Arrows, site of the famous Scampton Airshow, and scene of some of aviation history’s most poignant moments.
The Red Arrows are the face of the RAF to the world, and are regularly seen practising over the skies of Lincolnshire. Most famously they perform at the Scampton Airshow, a two-day event with five hours of flying displays and up to 100 aircraft in attendance. A look round the RAF Village offers insight into life in the modern RAF.
The RAF Scampton Heritage Centre also has the restored office of Guy Gibson, the famous commander who led the Dambusters raid in 1943, just hours after his beloved pet Labrador was killed. Before taking off for the Ruhr Dams, he left instructions for the dog to be buried outside his office, where the grave can still be seen now. His office lay empty for more than half a century before being restored.
From May-September next year, you’ll also be able to see a recreated Royal Flying Corps airfield in the Dambusters hangar at RAF Scampton, as part of the ‘Lincolnshire, Bastion in the Air 1915-18’ exhibition.
RAF Coningsby is an important site, well worth seeing. It hosts the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, “guardian of the Royal Air Force’s heritage”, and groups can learn about it by taking a guided tour of the hangar. Group bookings are by prior arrangement only.
Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre is also of interest for its beautiful air force training college, the first in the world. RAF Cranwell has a rich history, and the free Heritage Centre has plenty to see and interactive elements including a flight simulator. Group tours are available by prior-booking.
Other sites
December will see the opening of the International Bomber Command Centre on Canwick Hill, just outside the city centre.
Over 57,000 men gave their lives to Bomber Command defending the country during the Second World War – more than serve in the entire Royal Air Force today. Groups are very welcome, and will have a chance to see the 31-metre tall Memorial Spire and its surrounding Wall of Names, and visit the Chadwick Visitor Centre to hear stories about the young men who helped win the war.
Six miles south of Lincoln is Scopwick Cemetery, where you can visit the final resting place of the ‘pilot poet’ John Magee.
His most famous poem is High Flight, a joyful ode about climbing to 33,000ft to “touch the face of God”. It’s now the official poem of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force, and was quoted by President Ronald Reagan following the Challenger space shuttle disaster. John Magee died in a mid-air collision over Lincolnshire in 1941, at the age of 19.
Visit Lincoln provides the Aviation Trail, a guide around seven key sites. Its highlights include RAF Waddington, and a rare mural of the Royal Flying Corps crest. This was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War; it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service in 1918 to form the Royal Air Force.
In the city
Lincoln Cathedral is worth a visit if aviation is your interest. The Airmen’s Chapel of St Michael houses a memorial book, and four beautiful stained glass windows, decorative memorials to Bomber Command, Flying Training Command, the Royal Rhodesian Air Force, and Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Lincoln Castle also offers a wartime theme – the 19th-century Observatory Tower was used during the Second World War by Civil Defence volunteers, equipped with binoculars and just a tin hat for protection, who kept a look-out for enemy aircraft in the skies.
Lincoln’s 1940s Day sees the city transformed with vintage stalls and shop windows, plus live music and street entertainment. This year’s event was such a success that 2018’s will likely take place over two days – 11-12 August.
Lincoln’s engineering heritage and future innovation can also be explored at the Spark Engineering Festival at Lincoln Cathedral, normally held in May.
Back to the ground
There’s much more to Lincoln besides aviation. The Cathedral is one of the largest and most celebrated in Britain, with an incredibly rich (in all senses of the word) history. Very imposing thanks to its hilltop position, for well over 200 years a vast medieval spire made it the tallest building in the world – taller than the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
Opposite the cathedral stands the fine castle, which has not only its medieval history to recommend it, but its more recent days as both a prison and a law court (the Crown Court continues to be used as such to this day). The castle is very explorable and also hosts a museum on its prison days, which is particularly poignant.
Other landmarks include the third-century Newport Arch, built by the Romans; the 12th-century Jew’s House, associated with the sad history of Lincoln’s once-large Jewish community; and Steep Hill, so true to its name that if you come from the Fens, like yours truly, you will struggle mightily to walk up without many rests along the way. Happily there is a shuttle bus.
The picturesque Brayford Pool area has some excellent modern options for dining and group accommodation.
Visit Lincoln
Visit Lincoln has lots of information for group organisers, including a dedicated 2018 campaign page for inspiration and information around aviation-based tours, including event and venue listings. Visit visitlincoln.com/aviation or visitlincoln.com/travel-tools/group-travel
