Hawks! Red Ones!

I had a bit of excitement the day we set off for our holibobs. I'd been keeping an eye on the Red Arrows training schedule out of RAF Scapton in Lincolnshire, as I was heading in that direction anyway, to collect Ben from Doncaster station where he was joining me for the trip north. With just 24 hours to go though before I was due to set off, there was no news of any planned practise at all, and I had given up hope - planning to leave here around mid afternoon and take a steady drive up the A1. The the news I had been hoping for came through - two practises, the first too early for me to get to, but the second just perfect at midday, and then a fly-out at 3pm when the team were leaving for RAF Valley - brilliant! A hasty change of plans, and some manic rushing about, and we were all set - I dropped Ben at the station for his journey to work and headed off...
A somewhat frustrating journey later - thanks to some lunatic drivers seemingly determined to take me off the road, and a sat-nav which had it's own ideas - very different to mine - of our desired route, leading to a detour through central Lincoln, I got to Scampton with 15 minutes to spare. I'd done my research and knew that the best spot for photos was at the end of the base, where there is a lower section of fence...however, this spot is a good 15 minute walk away from the car park so I knew I was going to be pushed for time - sure enough as I was dashing along the fence-line I heard the thrilling sound of the Hawks thundering along the runway, and taking to the air just to my left - wow! They take off in pairs, and you find yourself counting them as they go - I was expecting three pairs, then a single, so was a little surprised to see that the final takeoff was another pair - presumably Red 8 Dave Davies was getting a run-out! By the time they had assembled into formation I was in position, camera at the ready....

Sadly the hazy although bright conditions made getting many useable pics a bit of a nightmare. That notwithstanding though, there is something rather cool about standing in a field, in the middle of the countryside, with the sun beating down, watching the Red Arrows display with absolutely NOBODY else in view! *grin* Slightly odd seeing only 7 planes displaying, with the 8th kind of hovering around on the edges, like the odd man out at a party!

Practise completed, I had a bit of a drive around the area to check out suitable spots for watching the fly-out later, and then as a nod to the superb weather and roastingly hot temperatures, a quick stop at the shop for an ice-cream! Then back to my chosen spot for the fly-out, which quickly proved to be the right place as someone else turned up. A slightly more local chap, he confirmed straight off that the position was good "you see them taxi out, but can't see much of the takeoff from the direction they're heading today - this is as good as anywhere though" he said. So it proved...

You don't get much closer to the Reds than that! The high chain-link fence proved to be a bit of an annoyance - my fellow watcher found some breeze blocks and stacked them to get high enough to *just* see over, but there weren't enough to get me to the same situation although he did gallantly offer me first dibs! The right camera settings got around it well enough though and I got some nice shots as they rolled by, and even a wave or two...

Great fun! If I find myself with a day to spare and am in the right direction, I would certainly go and watch up there again. Now though, I'm working through the display schedule to decide where else I might be able to see them!
Robyn