Curios Corner (Architectural and Otherwise)

[chris68coupe]

There are quite a few airfields in the forest, below is a link.....

Overview – Real New Forest Guide

www.thenewforestguide.co.uk

.....I've been to Stony Cross, lots of concrete there.

 

[Will]

Wow! Thanks for the link Chris! I had no idea the New Forest area had been such a hive of RAF activity during WW2!

 

[Stephen CA]

The New Forest National Park Authority did a big HLF funded study on the importance of the area to the WWII effort, including the D-Day landings. If you know where to look there are some fantastic things still visible, including random railway platforms used to embark men and equipment for the D-Day landings and various bits of Mulberry Harbour.

New Forest Remembers: Untold Stories of World War II - New Forest National Park Authority

21677

www.newforestnpa.gov.uk

 

[Stephen CA]

Another late 18th century barn just outside Durley waiting for someone to rescue it. Would make an ideal workshop.....you would have to evict the rats first though....

 

[chris68coupe]

There's a few remains of wartime buildings in the woods near me (Creech walk) and at West walk/100 accres as well. The Creech was a POW camp for Italians during WW2. A mate of mine found 2 grenades up there last year with his metal detector.

 

[Stephen CA]

There's a few remains of wartime buildings in the woods near me (Creech walk) and at West walk/100 accres as well. The Creech was a POW camp for Italians during WW2. A mate of mine found 2 grenades up there last year with his metal detector.

A lot of the big houses in the Meon Valley taken over by various arms of the military in the run up to D-Day and obviously the landings were run from Southwick House. A former colleagues elderly mother could remember the GIs being camped out in the surviving bits of the Forest of Bere under their camouflage netting.

 

[chris68coupe]

OK, we are slightly off topic here but talking about WW2 reminded me that a friend who used to live between Warnford and West Meon said his deeds show that some of his front garden was compulsery purchesd to widen the road for moving tanks and troops etc down to the south coast for D-Day. There was a massive U.S. camp near Winchester where they now hold an anual music festival. a natural bowl overlooked from 'Chesford Head'.

 

[Stephen CA]

OK, we are slightly off topic here but talking about WW2 reminded me that a friend who used to live between Warnford and West Meon said his deeds show that some of his front garden was compulsery purchesd to widen the road for moving tanks and troops etc down to the south coast for D-Day. There was a massive U.S. camp near Winchester where they now hold an anual music festival. a natural bowl overlooked from 'Chesford Head'.

Cheesefoot Head. It's where they hold the annual Boomtown Festival now. There are pictures of Eisenhower addressing the GIs there prior to the embarkation for D-Day. That doesn't surprise me about the front garden. Lots of the roads were widened quickly to allow military vehicles to pass each other. That's why Hambledon floods now because the drainage ditches shown on the pre-war photos were filled in by the military.

 

[chris68coupe]

A few reilcs from the 'Meon Valley' railway, closed in the 60's. now a long flat walk.....

 

[TransAmDan]

I've been a long there Chris, nice walking area. Great pics.

 

[chris68coupe]

Thanks Dan, and another WW2 conection - Besides being used for transporting tanks etc for D-Day, Churchill, Eisenhower and De Gaull among others had talks on the 'Royal Train' at Droxford station on 2nd June 1944 to finalise plans for D-Day.

 

[Will]

Nice pictures Chris . There is something magical about old disused railway infrastructure. There used to be a railway which ran through Gosport. (It's mostly a cycle path now - Iv'e ridden along it). Where it crossed Military road was an old station building which was occupied when I last saw it. It still had the old platform in the garden! How cool is that!! Not sure if it's still there.

 

[chris68coupe]

Not sure but I think that railway was maintained until the end of the 'Cold war'.....Just incase!

 

[Stephen CA]

Just been working on the conversion of one of the few remaining buildings associated with the line through the Meon Valley, The Hurdles in Soberton which was the original railway hotel (soon to be converted into a house) directly opposite the old station building. The line was never a success with passengers and was only really left open as it was an alternative route for freight into Southampton Docks if the main line was bombed or sabotaged. As Will and Chris correctly say it's closure pre-dated the Beeching axe by over a decade.

 

[chris68coupe]

Yes, stopped taking passengers in the 50's and frieght in the early 60's. Wondered what would happen to the Hurdles (Railway Hotel), been closed as a pub/resteraunt for some time now.

 

[Stephen CA]

When "The Crown" came to town.....

Winchester Cathedral was pretty much taken over by Netflix yesterday for the filming of the latest series of costume drama "The Crown". Some fairly serious bits of kit on display, I wonder if any of those lights would fit on either of the cars....

 

[TransAmDan]

Wow, are they trying to create day time during the night with all them lights.

 

[Stephen CA]

Wow, are they trying to create day time during the night with all them lights.

Yep, they were filming a recreation of Charles and Diana's wedding inside apparently! It was supposed to be hush hush as to what exactly was being filmed so I waved my City Council badge at one of the security guards and asked him anyway and he told me ?. It all looked very impressive when I left the office in the dark yesterday evening and was nearly all gone by this morning!

 

[Will]

Yep, they were filming a recreation of Charles and Diana's wedding inside apparently! It was supposed to be hush hush as to what exactly was being filmed so I waved my City Council badge at one of the security guards and asked him anyway and he told me ?. It all looked very impressive when I left the office in the dark yesterday evening and was nearly all gone by this morning!

Awesome! When you see a film set or any filming done on location, it is easy to see why film and television costs so much! You only have to see the credits at the end of any movie. I had to go to Pinewood Studios for work once. What a massive, incredible and iconic place that is!

 

[Little Deuce Coupe]

Oopps!