The journey
When flying into East Anglia don’t just think about the destination but also think about the quality of the journey. There are loads of interesting features passing by your aircraft that can offer more interest than just turning points and navigational waypoints.
Did you notice that Abberton Reservoir viewed at a 2000ft from Colchester looks suspiciously like Micky Mouse in the sorcerer’s apprentice? To the East on the Essex Coast at Clacton – easily located using the very handy nearby CLN VOR – can be seen a newly built off shore wind farm.
A little further north of Great Oakley the River Stour and the River Orwell reach the sea and at Felixstowe is the largest container port in the UK. Continuing along inland parallel to the East Coast you will come across Woodbridge and Bentwaters airfields. It was in Rendlesham Forest around these now disused airfields that there was a controversial UFO sighting by the USAF in 1980.
Looking to the coast line here can be seen Orford Ness. This is where radar started and is Europe's largest vegetated shingle spit. This was where the experiments that enabled the UK to prove the viability of RADAR for monitoring aircraft movement were carried out in the 1930s. Its is now a nature reserve and part of the Suffolk Heritage Coast.
For interesting destinations what about Duxford or Old Warden for a great day out visiting their collections; I’ve flow into Duxford and can recommend it for a day out. I’ve not yet visited Old Warden by air only by car so far, but people where I fly from have and it’s on my list of places to fly to. If you play golf then pack your clubs and head for Earls Colne. You can’t miss it the airfield runs along the side of a golf course. And of course if you want to collect some interesting airfield names in your log book what about a visit to Little Snoring?