Bicester Airfield
Bicester Airfield, also known historically as RAF Bicester, sits in the gently rolling agricultural landscape of north Oxfordshire and represents one of Britain's most remarkable surviving examples of a First World War and inter-war Royal Air Force station. Located just to the north of the market town of Bicester, the airfield occupies a broad, open plateau typical of the limestone uplands in this part of England. It is widely regarded as one of the best-preserved early RAF aerodromes in the entire country, a distinction that has earned it significant heritage recognition and ongoing attention from aviation historians, conservationists, and enthusiasts.
The airfield was established in 1916 as a training station during the First World War, initially used to prepare pilots and crews for the conflict on the Western Front. After the Armistice, it continued in RAF service and was substantially developed during the 1920s and 1930s as part of the Air Ministry's expansion programme. The domestic and technical buildings constructed during this period are architecturally distinguished — designed in a neo-Georgian style that was typical of the formal, dignified approach the Air Ministry took to its permanent station architecture between the wars. A number of the original brick-built hangars, officers' messes, barracks, and ancillary structures from that era survive largely intact, giving the site an almost museum-like completeness that is extremely rare. During the Second World War, Bicester served as a bomber training station, hosting units that flew aircraft such as the Bristol Blenheim.
Walking or driving around the old technical and domestic sites, the atmosphere is notably sombre and historical. The low-profile brick buildings, wide parade grounds, and broad open expanses of grass give an impression of a world preserved in amber. The hangars — large, high-roofed structures of considerable engineering quality — loom quietly over the landscape, their painted interiors and original ironwork still visible in places. The sound of light aircraft is frequently heard overhead, as the airfield continues to be used for general aviation, adding an authentic continuity to the experience. The postwar silence of a once-busy military station pervades the older sections of the site.
The surrounding landscape is quintessential north Oxfordshire countryside — arable fields, hedgerows, scattered woodland, and stone-built villages of Cotswold and limestone character. The villages of Chesterton and Wendlebury lie close by, and Bicester town itself, now a sizeable commuter and market settlement, is within a few minutes' drive to the south. The nearby Bicester Village designer shopping outlet draws visitors from across the country, though it could hardly be more different in character from the quiet, heritage-laden airfield to the north. The broader area contains numerous Roman and medieval sites, reflecting millennia of settlement on this productive agricultural plateau.
The airfield today is managed in part as a heritage site and continues to support light aviation activity. Bicester Aviation and Gliding Club operates from the airfield, and visiting aviation enthusiasts can sometimes observe gliding and light aircraft operations from appropriate public vantage points. Heritage open days have been organised in past years to allow the public access to the historic buildings, which are otherwise not routinely open to casual visitors given that parts of the site remain in active use. Those interested in visiting should check with local heritage organisations and the Historic England listing for current access information, as the site is protected under heritage legislation.
Bicester Airfield holds a Grade II* listed status for its collection of inter-war buildings, placing it among the more significant protected historic sites in England. Historic England has described the station as probably the best surviving example of a 1930s RAF expansion period aerodrome in the country. Several of the individual structures carry their own listed building designations. This layering of historical significance — from First World War origins through inter-war expansion to Second World War operational use — makes it an irreplaceable part of Britain's aviation and military heritage, and a site of genuine fascination for anyone interested in the physical fabric of twentieth-century history.