Tarrant Rushton

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8 November 2017
Tarrant Rushton Airfield
6.6 miles
Windy Corner
​Coach and Horses Wimborne  ★★★★☆  (based on value for money)

The description will probably not sell this walk to many but it tells it like it is.  This is a great walk if you like walking on concrete!  Although the route looks as if it is on a lot of bridleways it is in fact mostly on the concrete that was put in place for the airfield.  This is where glider borne troops set out for Normandy on 5 June 1944.  You can read some more details at:
​ http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/d-dayonyourdoorstep/details/raf-tarrant-rushton-airfield.  

Open Countryside

So as might be expected the area is very flat and rather featureless.
This picture makes the point quite well.  It was actually towards the end of our walk by which time the soles of our boots had become quite thin.
​The smell as we approached the "fertiliser piles" close to Preston Farm was somewhat overpowering and we really knew we were in agricultural territory.

Somewhat earlier as we sat on some conveniently placed straw bales we met one of the farmers who was travelling around on a quad bike looking for a three legged deer.  It had apparently been hit by a car and he was on a mercy mission.  We hope he found it but we never spotted any deer the whole day which quite surprised us.

A Puzzle

​We were quite puzzled by this sign which as far as we could see was telling us to walk across the middle of a ploughed area. We decided to walk on the fairly short grass as shown on the map below and this eventually took us back onto the planned route without any problems.

It was quite poignant to stand by the Memorial at Windy Corner, knowing that Remembrance Day was just coming this weekend, and seeing the pictures of some of those who flew from here that had been placed by relatives and friends.
It was a funny old walk but we had a good time and enjoyed our two meals for £10.45 at the Coach and Horses.

Straw Men?

One Of The Memorial Plaques