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View Full Version : Anyone been to the "Flying Legends" at IWM Duxford recently?



John Cecilia
03-11-2014, 09:43 PM
Looking for information about attending this European Warbird air show. In particular, any tips on lodging, dealing with crowds, whether to buy tickets in advance, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

John Cecilia

Jeff Boatright
03-11-2014, 10:15 PM
Hi John,

I don't have anything useful to say on your specific requests, but I will say that no matter the crowds or other logistic challenges, Duxford itself is fantastic and one of the highlights of my travel experiences. I am envious! If you can manage it, spend time within the museum hangars themselves. I could've spent days there rather than the hours that I had available.

Jeff

Mayhemxpc
03-12-2014, 05:46 AM
Ditto on Duxford. I was not there during an airshow either, but I counted sixteen airworthy Spitfires on station, with regular flight activity at the airport. This activity included a Dehaviland Dragon, a B-17, a P-51 and a sampling of ex-RAF trainers. All-day is a must even without an airshow. Yes, you could stay inside the hangars all day long…but there is so much outside to see, too. There are some nearby hotels. I stayed in a Holiday in Express near the train station, which was nice. They had a meal arrangement with the B&B next-door. Most of the lodging, however, is likely to be in Cambridge. There is bus service from Cambridge to IWM Duxford.

Watch the movie, "The Battle of Britain" (again) before you go. Much of the movie was filmed on Duxford. (They even blew up one of the WW2 era buildings in making the movie.)

Bill Greenwood
03-12-2014, 09:18 AM
Duxford is cool, as a matter of fact it can be really cold. I left Colorado and it was colder at Duxford than here. It is an Island in the North Atlantic and can feel like it, the wind can go right through you.
I would stay in Cambridge, a fine old town. It is likely expensive, but the Duxford Lodge Hotel is next to the airfield, is a historic place,and has a nice restaurant. A friend arranged for us to have lunch there with Alex Henshaw, and Alex even bought lunch as a Spitfire and a Mustang flew over.
Unless you smoke, you might want to make sure the any hotel is really non smoking. The last time I was there, England was still in the 1950 s as to smoking. Even if the hotel room is non smoking,, the lobby and bar were not.It may be better now.
I would try to have a whole day other than the airshow to look around and then the show day. Entrance traffic to the show can be bad, go early say 8 am. I would buy a pit pass if they are for sale, otherwise unlike Oshkosh, they keep the great unwashed massed separate from the planes.
Food is not what the Brits are famous for, but many pubs have at least acceptable fish and chips. Restaurant at the airport is about a C, but the bookstore there is good.
You may be able to buy fligth in a Tiger Moth or Rapide or something cool.
My info might be a little dated, but them the Brits aren't known for rapid change of their ways if ever.

John Cecilia
03-27-2014, 04:55 PM
Everyone, thanks! All good ideas and suggestions.

Turns out we have some remote connections to some people who live in Cambridge, who are helping out. Can't wait to see the new/old Spit talked about on his forum!

champ driver
03-28-2014, 04:52 AM
John, look at this web site which has lots of beautiful photos around Duxford, maybe it will help you get a feel for the place and the planes there.
It's called Plane Talk and look at the index page under "Aviation Banter" and "Airshow Photo Threads", there you'll find some extremely good photos of the field and the planes there.

http://forum.planetalk.net/index.php?sid=9327d905e0ed4163996a02af69fd026d

Here's the latest photo thread with the Spitfire,
http://forum.planetalk.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11344

Bill Greenwood
03-30-2014, 11:03 AM
England is a great place to visit with an enormous amount of historical and cultural things to see. One could spend 5 days in London itself, the Victoria and Albert or sciences museum(Kensington?) where the original Supermarine Schneider Trophy winning racer is, way in the back and upstairs. Hendon Museum, the Imperial War Museum near Wimbledon with the V2 missle in the lobby, the Churchill cabinet and war rooms, and for any ladies in the group , the Queens collection of jewels in the Tower make Liz Taylor look like a pauper. For anyone, not aviation , but the London theater is a delight, I saw PHANTOM(fabulous with the original cast) there and Buddy Holly and cheaper than in N. Y. I went to one of the pubs where Jack the Ripper was said to have been, ( 10 Bells, I think). Subways are good for speed, but for sightseeing nothing better than upper deck in a London bus if weather is good. Cab drivers and cops are the best in the world.

You can drink the water safely, but the food is often not the best. I am told in the more than a decade since I have been there they have actually discovered refrigeration for drinks, even beer, and non smoking in restaurants and hotels, but I wouldn't bet money on that.

Kyle Boatright
03-30-2014, 12:52 PM
England is a great place to visit ... <They have allegedly added> non smoking in restaurants and hotels, but I wouldn't bet money on that.

I spent a while working in Yorkshire in the mid-90's. We always joked that restaurants and bars had two sections: Smoking and Chain Smoking.

It would be great if things have progressed a bit.

Mayhemxpc
03-30-2014, 02:59 PM
Although not the extent as in the United States, many restaurants in the UK are now smoke-free. It has progressed to a point where the main character in the BBC series Sherlock remarked on it in more than one episode. As of a year ago, however, I saw Pubs in London where smoking was allowed. Just like hotels in the United States, however, there is no guarantee that the person who last stayed in your room didn't decide to smoke, regardless of the restriction.

John Cecilia
08-23-2014, 10:49 PM
To everyone who responded to my request for information, I just wanted to say thank you. It was, as they say, brilliant! Nothing like the sound of 11 Spitfires in the air at one time, ten Merlins and a Griffon. The weather was so very British, giving the impression of what it might have been like in 1940.