Here are a few fairly depressing shots of former RAF Silloth on the coast of West Cumbria.
Silloth was one of the last "Expansion Period" airfields to open just before the second world war, hence the architecture is a bit more thoughtful than your average disused wartime airfield. It lived on for quite a few years after the war as an RAF station before closing in the 50s. As a matter of interest, a few scenes from the film "The Dambusters" were filmed here.
In the following 50 or so years it went through a bit of a "boom and bust" cycle, with large factories being built on the runways and the old station building being converted for commercial use. The factories are now closed and derelict ( ahem
) and many of the businesses on the airfield site are also gone.
The day I visited there was a car boot sale on, and there were literally thousands of people milling around nearby which kind of spoiled things a bit. I did get to wander around the old technical site, and here are some shots of what is left there.
1.Brick faced water tower:
2.Closer still, note the workmanship of the bricklaying after nearly 70 years:
3.Inside the water tower:
4.The sergeants mess. Note the ornamental bushes that have become trees:
5.Doorway into sergeants mess:
6.General view over the site:
7.Outside a trashed building:
8.Inside same:
9.Station Armoury:
10.Inside same, note asbestos shelves:
11.Inside same, main room:
12.Inside, rifle rack. A little bit of history the vandals have missed:
13.Doorway. I love this colour:
14.The same door, but black and white. Because I can:
15.There was a load of transits parked outside the rather nice grecian guardroom which cocked up the chance of a decent shot, but I did get this from above the door:
16.Birds nesting in a junction box. Fried sparrow anyone?
17.I always like to round up with a picture of a toilet. So here it is:
Sadly a lot of the most interesting buildings like the control tower are long since gone, and what is left probably won't be there much longer. I like a bit of dereliction as much as anyone, but this is just a pointless waste of good buildings.
Silloth was one of the last "Expansion Period" airfields to open just before the second world war, hence the architecture is a bit more thoughtful than your average disused wartime airfield. It lived on for quite a few years after the war as an RAF station before closing in the 50s. As a matter of interest, a few scenes from the film "The Dambusters" were filmed here.
In the following 50 or so years it went through a bit of a "boom and bust" cycle, with large factories being built on the runways and the old station building being converted for commercial use. The factories are now closed and derelict ( ahem
) and many of the businesses on the airfield site are also gone. The day I visited there was a car boot sale on, and there were literally thousands of people milling around nearby which kind of spoiled things a bit. I did get to wander around the old technical site, and here are some shots of what is left there.
1.Brick faced water tower:
2.Closer still, note the workmanship of the bricklaying after nearly 70 years:
3.Inside the water tower:
4.The sergeants mess. Note the ornamental bushes that have become trees:
5.Doorway into sergeants mess:
6.General view over the site:
7.Outside a trashed building:
8.Inside same:
9.Station Armoury:
10.Inside same, note asbestos shelves:
11.Inside same, main room:
12.Inside, rifle rack. A little bit of history the vandals have missed:
13.Doorway. I love this colour:
14.The same door, but black and white. Because I can:
15.There was a load of transits parked outside the rather nice grecian guardroom which cocked up the chance of a decent shot, but I did get this from above the door:
16.Birds nesting in a junction box. Fried sparrow anyone?
17.I always like to round up with a picture of a toilet. So here it is:
Sadly a lot of the most interesting buildings like the control tower are long since gone, and what is left probably won't be there much longer. I like a bit of dereliction as much as anyone, but this is just a pointless waste of good buildings.
