Today we only had one destination in mind. The Imperial War Museum’s airfield at Duxford. We knew there was so much to see that we gave ourselves an entire day to see it – and we were very glad we did! Even we hadn’t appreciated just how large the aircraft collections are – and it’s not just aircraft either (more about that later).

We’d also decided on an early start as we knew today was going to be a hot-one weatherwise, although you wouldn’t have known that at 07:30 this morning. This was the view from our verandah with early morning mist obscuring the nearby fishing ponds – hardly flying weather – even for Ducks!

Now, unless you have an interest in aircraft and military or social history, Duxford probably isn’t for you. It’s not cheap to get in, and adult ticket (with a donation included) is £29, but when you see what’s preserved there and what goes on in the way of aircraft restoration and maintenance, you realise it’s not an bad price to pay. The museum’s also still an active airfield, so there’s always a series of aircraft taking off and landing with some providing commercial trips. Today this varied from civil light aircraft through to vintage Tiger Moth biplanes and a twin seater Spitfire, PT462. Costs vary considerably, with the Spitfire (understandably) being the most expensive, but if you have a spare few grand in your back pocket…

There was a procession of other aircraft in the air too. Single-seater Spitfires and Hurricanes kept the air full of the sound of Rolls Royce Merlin engines, as did an American P51 ‘Mustang’. The bigger aircraft stayed on the ground today but a PBY ‘Catalina’ flying boat and an American B17 ‘Flying Fortress’ basked in the sun for all to admire. Here’s a few pictures from our visit.

As well as aircraft there’s a whole building dedicated to land warfare at the far end of the site. This includes tanks and guns from world war 1 onwards, with some of the most recent being the most sobering as they’re fighting in the Ukraine right now. Former Soviet Union BMP1 and BTR80 armoured personnel carriers are used by both sides, whilst 14 of the British Challenger 2 tanks on display with them have been supplied to the Ukrainians (the first one ever to be destroyed in combat was reported today).

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