Lancaster flypast highlight of this year’s Heritage Open Day
- 18.09.2025
As well as an archaeology exhibition, bunker tours and presentations as part of this year’s Heritage Open Day, a highlight for residents and visitors to Alconbury Weald (on Saturday, 13 September 2025) was a flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
The impressive Lancaster did three circuits over Alconbury Weald, providing a poignant tribute to the former airfield’s military past.
The guided tours of the Avionics Building - the military bunker that played a key role gathering intelligence from the U2 Spy Plane’s successor, the TR1 reconnaissance aircraft, during the Cold War – always prove popular with visitors. In previous years, the tour has welcomed back servicemen based at the airfield during the Cold War, and this year saw the return of one of the team that helped build the Avionics Building, which added an element of nostalgia to the tour.
Attendees also enjoyed a tempting array of culinary delights from food trucks and The Watch Office Bar & Kitchen (in the refurbished World War II Nissan Hut, which was used as a mission control during World War II), played games, visited stalls and listened to live music as part of Alconbury Weald Community Association’s Fun Day, which ran in parallel with the heritage activities.
“Our Heritage Open Day is always a popular feature in our annual events calendar, and it was fantastic to see so many residents and visitors come along to learn about the development’s past – from the early Iron Age through to its more recent military past.
“The Lancaster flypast was an amazing addition to this year’s event, and to see it approach along The Boulevard and fly past the refurbished Watch Office, was particularly poignant.”
You can find out more about Alconbury Weald’s heritage at www.alconbury-weald.co.uk/about/historic-alconbury-weald
