Tranwell Airfield

The airfield initially housed No. 4 Air Gunnery School (4 AGS). Accommodation was in 10 dispersal sites to the north and east of the airfield near Tranwell village and The Whitehouse Centre (post-war this became a children's hospital). The main aircraft used during its early existence for teaching air gunners was the unpopular Blackburn Botha, which was very heavy and under-powered, often taking the whole of the runway to get airborne. Following several crashes and collisions, it was eventually replaced with the Avro Anson. Most of the air gunnery practice occurred off shore at Druridge Bay where several of the original wartime structures still exist at the National Trust site, and flew…

Today the site has reverted to grazing land although several wartime buildings remain and are used for storage. Parts of the hard standings also survive. A small privately owned part to the North West is used for a car boot sale every Sunday between March and November. There are still a number of buildings in nearby fields and an underground control room hidden in the small group of trees behind the airfield. One of these buildings is a blister hangar. Other structures include an air raid shelter, gun-firing test butts and other unidentified structures. In March of each year Morpeth Races Point to Point Races are held at the former airfield.