Plane Spotters and Petrol Heads

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Lowland and Hill Walks
Feb 12
2023

20 people attending

0 places left

Your price
£12.50
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Distance 13 km (8 miles). Total ascent 174 m (571 feet). Some fields are uneven and may be boggy in wet conditions.

This walk starts near East Midlands Aeropark with a collection of 27 complete air frames on external display. There is a good view of East Midlands Airport with planes taking off and landing as we walk around the western perimeter fence. The airfield was originally built as a Royal Air Force station known as RAF Castle Donington in 1943, before being redeveloped as a civilian airport in 1965. The airport is now a hub for low-fare airlines, and it was the second-busiest UK airport for freight traffic in 2016, after London Heathrow. 

The walk continues to Donington Park Motor Racing Circuit created between the First and Second World Wars. It has a capacity of 120,000, and hosted a single Formula One race in 1993, but has become the favoured home of the British round of the MotoGP motorcycling championship. It is also the venue of the annual Rock music Download Festival.

South of Donington Park, we descend to a disused railway track from Wilson towards Melbourne. The route back traverses fields and returns around the back of the racing circuit with a view of Donington Hall, a mansion house set in parkland built in 1790. The hall was requisitioned at the start of World War I by the British government and turned into a prisoner of war camp. While interned at Donington Hall in 1915, a German naval pilot made the only successful escape from Britain in either World War. The hall is the former headquarters of British Midland International (BMI) and the Norton Motorcycle Company.

There is an option to visit the Nags Head pub at the end of the walk for a drink (and food).

 

Distance 13 km (8 miles). Total ascent 174 m (571 feet). Approximately 4.5 hours.

Dogs

Well-controlled dogs are welcome but please keep dogs under control at all times.

 

All images taken by the event leader with permission for ODL use.

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Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, even if they are extremely mild, or who has recently tested positive for Covid-19, is asked not to attend.