National Museum of Flight, Scotland.

66.1 Miles. Now at Seaview Caravan Club site at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

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RAF East Fortune as it was in 1940.

We had no visits planned whilst on route to Berwick upon Tweed today but a sign for the Museum of Flight on a brown sign caught my eye. We followed the signs off the A1 onto the A199 for East Linton then took the B1347 to East Fortune where the museum was well sign posted. We actually followed a service bus into the museum grounds which indicated that we were not going to have any problems.

Matador 4x4 general purpose truck.

As we turned the final corner it was like going through a time warp back to about 1940. Here was RAF East Fortune as it was when the RAF pulled out at the end of WWII. The museum only takes up 7% of the original air base which was the maintenance sector. One runway is still in use by an aero club as we saw a power hand glider take off and land a couple of times. The other runway is used by a motorcycle racing club. At one time the base had been a hospital for TB sufferers and during the Cold War of the 1960’s was used as a storage depot for all manner of things in case some idiot decided to start a nuclear war. In 1961 it was bought back to life as a stand in for Edinburgh airport while the runways there were resurfaced.

RAF East Fortunes control tower looking a bit forlorn.

The housing and administration village is still in place outside the museum grounds but I was told that it was full of nasties and nobody was allowed access. There have been plans to redevelop the area but because there are listed buildings among them and the nasties, what ever they are, nothing has been done.

Avro 698 Vulcan B.2A Nuclear Bomber 1963.

The museum has 3 hangars full to the brim with all manner of aircraft, civilian, military,experimental, private and sports aircraft. There are some major restoration programmes taking place including a Beaufort bomber that was completed at the end of WWII but never saw service. It was sold to the Portuguese Naval Air Arm for Maritime patrols who later sold it to the South African Air Force from where the museum acquired it. Assessment of it completeness is underway to evaluate the likelihood of restoration.

Vickers Marine Spitfire.

Pride of place goes to a Concorde supersonic airliner which visitors can walk through and see into the cockpit with it’s hundreds of dials and switches. There is also a complete story of the Air France crash that bought about the demise of these amazing aircraft. Outside in the weather are a De Havilland Comet 4C, a similar aircraft to which I flew in when I emigrated to New Zealand in 1963. Climbing into this aircraft I had to fold myself up as the doorway was barely 5 feet high and the inside layout was different to what I remember as the seats were 5 across (2/3). I seem to recall the aircraft I flew on was 4 seats across(2/2) however I believe short haul aircraft had a different configuration to long haul versions. I do know that they are claustrophobic compared to modern jet airliners with barely 3 inches headroom clearance.

Canadian Fairchild Bolingbroke IVT alias 1942 Bristol Blenheim MKIV.

Other aircraft outside were a BAC One Eleven which was designed as a replacement for the Turbo Prop  Vickers Viscounts. The One Eleven was faster and could carry an extra 44 passengers. The other aircraft was a Avro Vulcan Bomber which I was told was flown into the museum (RAF East Fortune) with the bare minimum of runway. It was bought in as low as possible over the boundary fence stopping just short of the other boundary fence line. After taxi-ing the aircraft to it’s current position the pilot emerged as white as a ghost.

Sepecat Jaguar. A combined Anglo French built fighter plane.

The other claim to fame for the RAF base was that it was the launching point for the successful double crossing of the Atlantic by the Airship R34. There is a film documentary about this historic event and one of the concrete anchor points is on display outside the theatrette along with a bronze memorial. With so much to see an inwardly digest time just flew by (excuse the pun). For anybody interested in this sort of establishment a full day out is not unrealistic. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Hawker Sea Hawk F 2.

A total of 3758 miles, since 5 March 2011

Edinburgh Sightseeing

With five tour buses to choose from every option is covered as each one covers something different to all the others. There are some duplications but they can be worked around. With the adult fare at £12 for each bus per day or the Grand Plus 2 day ticket for £25 which you access to all 5 buses, Forth Bridge boat cruise plus a discount for the HMY Britannia. If you have the time the latter is by far the best option.

Edinburgh has spent hundreds of millions of pounds installing a tramway from the airport to the city centre which still has not been completed and is way over budget and well beyond deadline. The conundrum the powers to be are now in is that it’s going to cost more to scrap it than complete it. Oh dear!

Scottish pipers are plentiful around the city.

Timeball tower Edinburgh. Unfortunately New Zealand lost hers in the last earthquake.

Little alleyways like this adorn Old Town Edinburgh.

The Netherbow Wellhead is the last remnant of the Old Towns water reticulation system.

Looking down the Royal Mile from the Castle to Holyrood House.

The time ball tower on the right.Old Town Edinburgh.

Scottish National Gallery.

More Edinburgh beautiful Architecture.

Intersection of Princes and Waverley streets where all the tour buses leave from in Edinburgh.

Deacon Brodie, a respected public servant by day and a villain by night.

The mind boggles.

Old steel work in Edinburgh Waverley railway station.

Edinburgh’s answer to Harrods. Still a family business.

Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Beautiful stonework.

The Royal Yacht Britannia.

http://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk

It was off into the city again for round two of the City Tour buses. First up was Majestic Tours who are the only one that includes the Royal Yacht “Britannia”. Edinburgh won the right to house the Yacht when it was decommissioned in 1997 as part of a redevelopment of the Port of Leith. A whole new shopping complex along with the Royal Yacht has made it the most visited tourist attraction in Edinburgh. The four levels open to the public are well displayed with plenty of information boards. What surprised us was the level of furnishings on board used by the Royal Family. We were expecting to find furniture that you see in stately homes and castles but it was quite the opposite. Regular furnishings that you could find in many a family home across the country although they may have been better quality in finish.

The bridge of HMY Britannia.

HMY Britannia. Stern deck.

The Royal Family room with plenty of windows and her private deck and sun lounge.

The daily Rum ration until the Navy cancelled it.

The Queens bed and bedroom. Quite simplistic really. The wall hanging above the bed cost £450.

The Duke of Edinburgh's bedroom. He preferred blankets rather than duvets.

The crews quarters were a typical naval vessel where every inch of space is utilised. Depending on rank as to whether you had a cabin to yourself or shared two, four or six to a cabin with bunks. Originally the crew had hammocks but during a refit bunks were installed. The crew had a different lifestyle on Britannia compared with other naval vessels. When guests were on board they didn’t have to wear caps or hats so that constant saluting didn’t have to be returned. Work in what was the family area had to be completed by the crew early in the morning or if this was not possible then the crew had to complete the work in total silence. If a member of the family or a guest entered the area they were to stand to attention until the person concerned left.

HMY Britannia.

Officers Dining room.

The crew did have some fun. Two gifts to the crew were a toy Wombat that was used as mess room tennis where the toy was thrown into the blades of a ceiling fan and who ever caught it had to return the serve so to speak. The other was a wooden Monkey that was to be displayed in a glass cabinet and not to be touched. However every night the monkey would mysteriously move to a different location.

The wombat in the crew mess.

This little monkey used to magically move every night.

The State Dining Room. Around the walls are gifts from countries Britannia visited.

Plush stairwells and a private lift.

When the Queen was on board her day ran from 7am to 11pm and the crews days were not much shorter. Originally the Royal Rolls Royce was stowed on board on official tours but the only way it would fit in the garage was to take the bumpers off. Eventually this practice was stopped by sourcing suitable vehicles in the locations she was to visit and the garage space was converted to other purposes.

The operating theatre in case of emergencies.

The Queens Family room, comfortable but not lavish.

The baby grand piano in the family room which many members of the royal family played.

Crews bunk room. They used to have hammocks prior to a refit.

The engine room was spotless with 8 engineers being on duty at any given time. An American guest on being shown the engine room while the ship was still in service made the comment “OK that’s nice, now show me the real engine room”. He was obviously expecting to see dirt, oil and grease everywhere but that wasn’t the case. During the life of the ship everything performed perfectly and the equipment was basically as it was after being launched.

The P Class yacht built by David Marks in New Zealand in 1952 and presented to the Queen the following year.

Three hours disappeared before we realised what time of day it was. Congratulations must go to the Trust who are presenting the Royal Yacht to the public for a fantastic job. It was then back into the city for lunch before we took the fourth and final tour bus. This bus concentrates on the Old Town of Edinburgh around the Castle. We left this bus at the Castle and then walked down the Royal Mile which is actually 1.2 miles but hey, whose counting. By this time we were both in agreement that it was time to head home as it was almost 6pm.

All this and we haven't even covered Edinburgh yet, more to come tomorrow, I’m off to bed.

Edinburgh Forth Bridges Cruise.

This morning our Kiwi acquaintances came around for a chat and to check out our home on wheels before they headed off to travel towards Inverness. We parted with a commitment to meet up again in New Zealand.

Close up of the Firth of Forth railway bridge from the cruise boat.

Scaffolding covers the Firth of Forth Railway Bridge during it's 20 year repaint.

The weather forecast for today was rain, heavy at times but around mid morning there  was an improvement in the weather so we caught the bus into town. We had researched the tour bus situation and found 4 different companies all with slightly different routes plus an included boat tour around the Firth of Forth. A two day ticket covered the whole lot so that’s what we bought. As the weather was holding out we caught the bus which included the boat trip. As we have visited Edinburgh before we had a bit of a head start with the bus tour but we did see and learn a few new things.

Looking like Corgi Toys vehicles crossing the Firth of Forth Road Bridge.

Inch Garvie Island in the Firth of Forth has been an isolation hospital and a prison in the past

Out in the Firth we cruised around between the road and rail bridges to start off. The noise under the road bridge was horrendous especially as trucks went over the expansion joints which you could see daylight through.  The bridge now is carrying more traffic than it was designed for and plans are now underway to build a second road bridge. When the new bridge is completed the old bridge will be dedicated to public transport to alleviate traffic congestion. The rail bridge was completely different even with two trains crossing simultaneously there was only a low rumble. There is scaffolding over various parts of the bridge as the current 20 year repaint is underway. There used to be a story that when painters finished at one end of the bridge they had to go back to the other end and start again. With paint of yesteryear that was probably true but they have now developed a long lasting paint with the name of Bridge Red which is as close to the original colour as possible.

The underside of the Firth of Forth Road Bridge which is badly overloaded.

North Sea Oil Terminal where oil is pumped into waiting tankers.

Heading away from the bridges we passed the Oil Terminal where tankers call in to collect oil being extracted from the North Sea. Three tugs sit awaiting the next arrival, one of which is the most powerful tug in existence with the equivalent horse power to 100 Land Rovers. Further out towards the open sea we passed channel marker buoys where several Grey Seals were basking in the meagre sunshine. All told we spotted a couple of dozen Seals.

Smile, you're on Candid Camera.

Tugs await the next tanker at the North Sea Oil Terminal.

North Sea Oil Terminal in the Firth of Forth.

As we approached Inchcolm Island with it’s 12th century Abbey we were lucky enough to spot 4 Puffins which unfortunately were not as photogenic as the Seals. We had the option of being landed on the island for a fee and be picked up one and a half hours later on the next trip. With the island being fairly exposed with little shelter,uncertain weather, and a shortage of time we decided not to take this option. We got talking to another passenger who turned out to be another Kiwi over here on holiday. Having never been further than Australia before he had taken 9 weeks off work and was doing a big round the world tour. He told us he works in the open cast coal mine near Karamea where he lives.

12th century Abbey on Inchcolm Island.

Reputedly the most powerful tug built.

Back on dry land we caught the bus back into the city where we headed for the nearest eating establishment as we were both very hungry. After a bit of planning we headed back to Waverley Bridge where we caught the second tour bus which took a predominantly inner city route. While on this bus we experienced a torrential rain storm which only lasted for about 10 minutes but had the passengers on the top deck scrambling for cover on the lower deck and left a lot of surface flooding on low level streets. By the time we completed this tour the rain had cleared and we could locate the nearest bus stop for the bus back to camp.