Reading the above posts has reminded me of a very pleasant Spring day in 1976 which included a few hours at the Scottish base. From memory, after a routine morning in my Ops Wing office at RAF St Mawgan I climbed into a Nimrod for an afternoon ‘excursion’ courtesy of 42 Sqn. Once airborne I recall enjoying very nice low level views of the Cornish countryside before quietly sneaking up on some rod anglers in the back of their little fishing boats in St Austell Bay. I can only assume that there must have been a very good reason why we didn’t ‘power up’ our deafening engines until we were directly overhead these unsuspecting boat people. I can only imagine the insults and threats they aimed at us as we roared away! Anyway, after this little bit of fun we continued east up the English Channel towards Devon where more good views were had including close-ups of Plymouth city centre and Plymouth Hoe. Here we spent some time practising a fly-by over the city in preparation for an upcoming Lord Mayor’s day’s parade which would be officially ‘opened’ by a St Mawgan Nimrod. On completion of this rehearsal we turned north and set course for Scotland and RAF Turnhouse.

Looking forward to more dramatic scenery and a rare opportunity of seeing the magnificent Forth bridges which had always fascinated me, I was more than pleased to have such super clear views of the two famous structures as we approached the base. After landing on what, I suppose, would have been the old runway, I ran into an old RAF friend I hadn’t seen for several years who told me all about the base and how much he enjoyed being there. I could see why, it seemed to me be a good posting for any young airman wanting something a little bit different. Following a good ‘chewing the fat’ session with my friend, I rejoined the Nimrod crew for the return trip to St Mawgan which allowed more views of beautiful UK scenery including the Scottish and Welsh mountains.

On arrival back in Cornwall I just had time to lock my office before walking through the camp to the bus stop to catch my usual 10 past 5 Western National double decker to my home in Newquay. A nice slow end to an otherwise fairly hectic but very enjoyable day out.

Sadly, although I have pleasant memories of RAF Turnhouse as it was in 1976, I don’t think I would recognise the place today.

Regards………Paul