Sunny with a chance of Hailstones
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley,
somewhere in Scotland.
(Distance covered = 12.5 mile/Ascent =+790m)
Second last day of my walking holiday in Scotland while the Girls were away at the Canadian Highland Dancing Championships in 2014.
I had a bit of a lie in and didn't set off walking until 7.30am, but
as it wouldn't get dark until 10pm or thereabouts I would still have plenty of time to reach a very remote
wrecksite of an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley.
8am on the way out
8pm on the way back
I wasn't sure which way the weather was going to turn but after about an hour my undoubted good luck with the Scottish Weather kicked in, and halfway up an initial steep climb out of the glen where I had parked the car the sun was out.
Followed that road for quite a way
Once up out of the glen it was a very pleasant walk along a relatively flat Landy track for a good few miles with superb views on offer all around. I had to leave the Landrover track and head off cross country for the last mile or so to reach the crashsite, so that was a bit harder going through numerous bogs and peat hags.
Shattered and burnt out remains of the Whitley on a remote moorland miles from anywhere
The location of this crashsite is not very well known, the grid ref I had was about 1km away where a couple of panels have been blown by the wind and the published grid ref is about 2km away. I managed to happen upon the main crashsite as when I found the panels at the grid ref I had, I figured they had been blown there by the wind, so I walked into the wind.
Not the sort of place to get caught in a deluge of Hailstone
Not long after arriving at the crashsite the sky turned a bit angry and a brief storm of rather large hailstones ensued, I made a shelter out of some pieces of the Whitley and ate my sandwiches while I waited for the storm to pass. It sounded like someone was chucking marbels at the alluminium panel I was sheltering under.
Just after the hailstones relented.
A battered and toasted R1155 wireless at the wrecksite
An intact R1155 wireless at Duxford, for comparison
There are lots of interesting parts still at this site, most probably due to the fact that Souvenier Hunters aren't aware of its location. I spent a good 3 hours looking around and photographng pieces before having to set off on the long walk back to the Pug.
Ancilliary componants from the engines,including a carburetor and a supercharger
Usually stuff like this has been pilfered by souvenier hunters long ago.
A piece of broken gearbox and the internal workings from an instrument or gauge
A round of 303 ammunition dated 1943 and a securing clip which says 'remove only to jettison'
This is the remains of the tail turret, lots of smashed perspex and 303 ammunition
Lovely evening to finish off a very enjoyable day
Usually the slog back to the car can prove to be a bit of a chore but on this day the weather was so nice it was really enjoyable and I even made a few diversions to take photos of the scenery.
Heather, the beautiful little flower that my beautiful little girl is named after.
