Redhill Aerodrome, UK

I've been meaning to go to Redhill Aerodrome for quite a while, because it's only less than 5 minutes drive, 2km away from me. That's great if you have a car which I don't, and I really hate that!!!

Given the short distance, I could easily walk there. Having checked with Google, there are two ways to get there by foot. First, is via the countryside roads. This is what it looks like from Google street view. With no pavement and the many cars zooming by, I'd never make it there alive!!
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The other is marching through these fields, like these... not a difficult choice to make. Off I go!!! My followers will have probably seen quite a few of these lush green walks from me recently. I think we can never have enough of nature.

According to Google map, I should walk straight ahead across four fields till I hit a road. From there it was a short walk along the road to get to the aerodrome. After the third field. I felt I was walking too far away from the aerodrome if I continued across the fourth field. I decided to take a right turn instead. Gut feel told me the aerodrome was nearer to my right instead of ahead.

Lesson number one when you're walking in the countryside - Don't try to be a smart cookie and think you know better than Google. The red route is where I'm supposed to go. I started off on the left side, and the aerodrome is on the right hand side of the map. You can probably understand why I took the right turn ie the blue route. My gut feel was correct, that way was nearer to the aerodrome. The only problem was, that route wasn't a public footpath. It's a track for the farmer's vehicle. The farmer drove by when I was there, and he told us, in a friendly way, we shouldn't be there and the public footpath was further up north. He also said this way is dangerous for walkers as they lay traps because of so many wild animals!!!

We finally got to the country side road. but ended up walking a little bit more of the road than we should have. Plus there was a bend, which doesn't look like much from the satellite map, but not that pleasant to walk when you have to look out for cars zooming from both directions.

PILOT HUB

After a little hair raising walk, we finally arrived at my destination. The Pilot's Hub is a cafe at the aerodrome looking out into the airfield. Luckily it wasn't packed with people on the Sunday afternoon, but there were enough families around creating a lovely summer vibe.

Despite the scorching sun, we sat by the side of the deck for an unrestricted view to watch the planes come and go. These are small planes, and the runway was further away. By the time the planes arrived here, they are taxiing slowly on the tarmac, to be seen and not to be heard. It was a great way to spend the afternoon with a cup of tea.

With such a gorgeous view, no wonder this places was voted the Best Outdoor Seating by the Restaurant Guru 2020. However, when you go to the website or Google it, you can't actually find this award 😂

THE HANGER

The Hanger is another lovely place to wander around. This is Hanger 9 and was built in 1934, a year after the aerodrome was built in 1933. It is behind the Pilot Hub and you have to walk around it to get to the toilet on the other side. I didn't realise there were so many planes on display here, otherwise I would have paid a visit to the toilet earlier on instead of before we are about to leave.

This is the Spartan Arrow and was built in 1932. Only 15 of this aircraft was built, and this is the only surviving one today. This is the only aircraft that has it's own plaque in the hanger.

This is the SOCATA TB10. SOCATA is a french aviation manufacturer and TB stands for Tarbes, a city in south western France where the aircraft is manufactured.