ANZIO Digital Fancy A Day Out? Waddington Air Show 2014

by Jules Tyndall, LincsMag Writer.
Date: 09 July 2014

Fancy A Day Out? Waddington Air Show 2014 - Lincolnshire Magazine - LincsMag.com

“How do you fancy a day out at the Waddington Air Show?” was the question my husband asked a few weeks ago.

To be perfectly honest, a ‘day out’ for me does not in any way involve watching some blokes messing around in their flying machines while you traipse around a muddy field desperate for a cup of tea and decent toilet facilities.

I felt that I showed just enough enthusiasm not to knock to excitement out of him but secretly harboured the hope that if I did not mention it again then I may be able to exclaim, “wasn’t today the day you wanted to go to the Air Show, oh dear, what a shame, next year perhaps……”

However, as the grey, overcast and damp day dawned, there we were on our way to Waddington with umbrellas and rain ponchos in the boot.

Traffic was not bad at all and we arrived without any delays at 07:50am, expecting there to be a short wait before the gates opened at 8am. We were though immediately waved through to the base with just a short stop to show our tickets.

Although it was raining pretty hard, there was no difficulty with parking as temporary road surfaces had been positioned to ensure easy access to the grassed parking areas.

Vast Variety

Unfortunately, the opening parachute display had been cancelled due to the low cloud cover but that did not worry me overly because of the variety and number of market stalls and trade stands which had been set up. There were your usual trinkets and toy stalls but also quite a few with crafts, leather work, books and outdoor clothing. Enough to keep you interested but with prices low enough for you not to feel guilty about a little retail therapy.

Fancy A Day Out? Waddington Air Show 2014 - Lincolnshire Magazine - LincsMag.com

By noon the rain had cleared up nicely and luckily there were plenty of sunglasses, sun cream and sun hat stalls to mitigate the stupidity of not bringing any of these things to protect either yourself or your kids. I include myself in this group – we should know that a typical English summer day includes wind, rain and scorching sunshine!

Another reason why I did not really fancy going to Waddington was what were we going to do about food? We have had some pretty bad outside catered food in our time, dirty grey bacon in both wet and stale rolls as well as the odd gristley burger.

I must say that I was relieved to see a fair number of fresh fruit stalls and jacket potato stands as well as the usual burger and baguettes fare –all of which appeared to be reasonably priced and of a high standard.

Air Action

Finally, the air display itself… It really does not matter where you are sat/parked/stood at the airfield because the nature of the beast is that all the action goes on above your head.

Fancy A Day Out? Waddington Air Show 2014 - Lincolnshire Magazine - LincsMag.com

To be honest, if you want to delay your arrival until a little later in the day to avoid the traffic you will still have a good view of all the action and whatever you may have missed in the morning will be completely made up by the afternoon’s events.

The Vulcan was fabulous and feeling the power of its rumble in your tummy as it takes off is an experience not to be missed. The Red Arrow and The Blades displays were breath-taking as were each and every display. I must say though that earplugs are a must for delicate young ears and I saw that these were also available to buy on some stalls.

Exceeded Expectations

A day which I was not looking forward to exceeded all my expectations; the facilities were clean and plentiful and the area was constantly being tidied and cleaned by Air Cadets.

There was a great deal to do for even the most unenthusiastic of visitors such as myself and I will genuinely be pleased if my husband suggests the Waddington Air Show as a day out in the future.

To read more about the RAF Waddington International Air Show 2014, click HERE!

Facebook Picture Album

To see more pictures from the RAF Waddington International Air Show 2014, visit the Album on our Facebook page HERE!

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