| Donna Nook, located on the coast about 10 miles North-East of Louth, is one of the RAF’s East Coast gunnery ranges. It originally opened for this purpose in 1926, but in 1940 with the onset of World War 2, the site was expanded and a section of nearby farmland to the South-East developed into an airfield.
The airfield was very basic and used solely as a relief landing ground for nearby North Coates, although domestic site facilities for the service personnel during this time were erected around Marsh Lane and Ark road to the West of the field (South of the current range). The airfield side of things closed in 1945, with the gunnery range also shutting down the following year. However, in 1973 the RAF decided to re-open the old range and a new site was built on the dunes. Today, Donna Nook is still very much an active RAF base and people are allowed to watch the aircraft practising their bombing runs from the nearby car park at Stonebridge. A public footpath runs through the tech site, which allowed me access to take close ups of he tower. Traces of the old Donna Nook range can be found in the dunes to the South-East of the site behind one of the observation posts. Several of the old airfield domestic site plots also survive on private farmland around Marsh Lane and Ark Road. |
Sign in North Sommercotes village. 700x525 |
It seems the gunnery range is also a nature reserve (they preserve wildlife by blowing it up?). 700x525 |
Entrance to the range, from Stonebridge car park. 700x525 |
Access road to tech site off Marsh lane. 700x525 |
Guard room/Station HQ 700x525 |
Tech site, with control tower in background. 700x525 |
Close up of control tower. 700x525 |
Tech site as viewed from the beach, showing observation post and MT shed. 700x525 |
I hope this isn't live 525x700 |
Bombing targets (they're meant to be tanks). 700x525 |
Map of the range 700x525 |
Observation post (2) 700x525 |
Observation post (3) 700x525 |
Behind the third observation post are these remains of a concrete structure (original watch tower perhaps?). 700x525 |
Another view, showing what used to be a staircase entrance. 700x525 |
Looking up the old staircase to the rubble. 525x700 |
Air raid shelter underneath structure. 700x525 |
One of several unidentified buildings behind the dunes. 700x525 |
I wonder of anything is actually stored behind this door? 525x700 |
Some sort of bunker in the dunes next to the demolished structure. 700x525 |
Old domestic site buildings on private farmland. 700x500 |
decaying Romney hut, with refurbished airmans hut behind, off Ark road. 700x525 |
Former domestic site buildings on Turkey farm on Ark road. 700x525 |
Close up of buildings on Turkey farm. 700x525 |
