Caernarfon Airport

Possibly not many people know that Caernarfon has an airport. It began life as an RAF station in World War 2. It was decommissioned in 1946 and fell into disuse. Its renaissance began in 1969 when it was brought back into use as a landing strip in connection with the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle.

It has now become quite a visitor attraction with an air museum comprising lots of interactive items to amuse children. It is also the home of both the Air Ambulance for North Wales and the North Wales Police helicopter. Many local pilots have their light aircraft based hear together with a significant number of microlights.

There is an excellent cafe and restaurant together with picnic seating with views across the runway when watching the different aircraft come and go. I visited it on Saturday 15th May when a number of German enthusiasts had arrived to see it. The day had been given over to a new trust being inaugurated. The trust will be seeking to help disabled and disengaged people get flying experience and go on to get a full pilot's licence. The trust had linked with the Douglas Bader Foundation to provide flights for disabled children. To see the faces of both children and parents as they returned from their flights was nothing short of a joy.

I was impressed with the facilities at the airport and recommend it to any family looking for a different type of day out. The real bonus is that there is a beach only two minutes away!