In 1924 when A.V. Roe and company began to outgrow their airfield at Alexandra Park in Manchester it was decided that a purpose built Airfield be built.... The result being Woodford Aerodrome in Stockport, the site opened with 2 dutch barn style hangars with the site growing to be much larger.
The history and pedigree of the Woodford site is very colorful, for example the Vulcan bomber was designed and built at Woodford, along with other famous aircraft such as the Nimrod and of course the Iconic Lancaster Bomber. Woodford was also home to some very controversial aircraft (be it not Woodford's fault they were controversial) such as the Nimrod MRA4 and the Nimrod AEW3. The site closed in 2011 after the MRA4 scrapings.
More on Woodford: Here
The site is now a shadow of its former self with new owners Harrow Estates demolishing the massive main hangar and offices, ripping up the runway (although half still remains) and flattening the terrain in order to build £400k 'Starter Homes'. The north of the site is now houses with the old Flight sheds to the south and the old fire station remaining from the bygone era. The old fire station was converted in 2015 to a museum to honor the heritage of Woodford and is active, housing the only Vulcan bomber painted in anti flash white in the world. There is also another active simulator building ran by CAE.
We explored the Flight sheds area. Most of the buildings are in a pretty poor state due to vandals (there is security on site but they are useless), 2 of the 3 hangars are filled with rubble with the 3rd being used for storage so locked up tight. Also managed to get on the hangar roof on many occasions.
Photos taken on my OnePlus 5T (which sucks in low light)
Enjoy
*PA 02 was the 2nd development MRA4*
The history and pedigree of the Woodford site is very colorful, for example the Vulcan bomber was designed and built at Woodford, along with other famous aircraft such as the Nimrod and of course the Iconic Lancaster Bomber. Woodford was also home to some very controversial aircraft (be it not Woodford's fault they were controversial) such as the Nimrod MRA4 and the Nimrod AEW3. The site closed in 2011 after the MRA4 scrapings.
More on Woodford: Here
The site is now a shadow of its former self with new owners Harrow Estates demolishing the massive main hangar and offices, ripping up the runway (although half still remains) and flattening the terrain in order to build £400k 'Starter Homes'. The north of the site is now houses with the old Flight sheds to the south and the old fire station remaining from the bygone era. The old fire station was converted in 2015 to a museum to honor the heritage of Woodford and is active, housing the only Vulcan bomber painted in anti flash white in the world. There is also another active simulator building ran by CAE.
We explored the Flight sheds area. Most of the buildings are in a pretty poor state due to vandals (there is security on site but they are useless), 2 of the 3 hangars are filled with rubble with the 3rd being used for storage so locked up tight. Also managed to get on the hangar roof on many occasions.
Photos taken on my OnePlus 5T (which sucks in low light)
Enjoy
*PA 02 was the 2nd development MRA4*