Royal International Air Tattoo RAF Fairford

Friday 14th to Sunday 16th July 2023

Rain was forecast for Friday and yesterday's walk in the warm evening sun was a distant memory.

The day started dry but by the time we arrived at RAF  Fairford there had been several showers.

The fields were already turning to muddy slush but I managed to pick a route to the quiet camping area and found a suitable place.

The field was largely empty when we arrived apart from the perimeters where early arrivals had picked spots up close to the tree lines.

We went for central and we're soon joined by lots of other campers.

Every type of camper was here from small tents, large tents, trailer tents, caravans, small motorhomes, large motorhomes, a few palaces on wheels and even builders vans with a mattress and camping stove chucked in the back.

The ground conditions steadily got worse as the day drew on and the rain continued to fall. 

By now motorhomes we're having to be pulled through the mud by the tractors who were being kept busy until dusk getting people onto site. 

Lauren and Chloe arrived about 4pm and managed to avoid getting stuck.

There was plenty of flying displays to watch on Friday Saturday and Sunday.

Lauren and Chloe had tickets for the airfield on Saturday so they were gone must of the day enjoying the shows while we doggie sat Louis and Nutty.

The fast jets are very impressive, loud with a rumble you can feel in your chest.

There were display teams from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates who were excellent, but somehow not quite as good as the Red Arrows. 

Although that might just be patriotism playing a part.

One thing that was noticable though was the smoke from the UAE team was much more vivid than that from the Red's and hung in the sky for much longer.

Some photos of the aircraft

BBMF Lancaster Bomber

B52 US Bomber

Anyway after three days of getting the crockery rattled we set off on Sunday evening.

I'd checked the ground conditions for the route out earlier in the day and it seemed quite good having dried out in the strong wind and sunshine on Sunday morning.

Unfortunately it had also rained heavily in the afternoon and turned the whole area into a quagmire again.

We got so far before slithering to a muddy halt in a sea of slush.

Once stopped, there's no chance of getting going again.

Thankfully Lauren and Chloe had watched us off and seen the slither to a standstill.

So they came over and went in search of the tractor who was by this time keeping very busy. 

It was really only the Land Rovers getting off unaided.

Lauren found one and the driver said oh, hop in and show me where they are.

So she climbed into this huge John Deere tractor and arrived with a big grin on her face, loving every minute.

The tractor soon had us pulled off the field but it was still a bit of an anxious moment.

Getting towed off the field

Lauren enjoying her ride in the tractor

A view from the dashboard getting dragged through the mud

Some more photos of the mud

So all in all, a great weekend away and a number of new experiences to remember forever.

Lauren and Chloe stayed Sunday night and we're able to get off unaided on Monday so it had dried out again as quickly as it turned to mud on Sunday.

Next time I'd like to go into the show 😃