Dartmoor & Exmoor
Castle Camps airfield
128M
420FT
About Castle Camps airfield
Sitting on a high, windswept plateau near the Cambridgeshire-Essex border, this former WWII interceptor base provides a rare sense of elevation for the region. At 128m, the level terrain offers far-reaching views over the rolling fields of the Stour Valley and the rural landscape surrounding the village of Castle Camps.
Key Statistics
Rank
271st Highest in Region
Parent Range
Exmoor
Prominence
?
21m
Nearest Town
Shudy Camps
Geology
You are walking across a deep foundation of natural chalk. This soft, white rock forms the sturdy ground beneath your feet.
Classifications
Nearby Fells
Find It
OS Grid Reference
TL632418
Latitude
52.0511°N
Longitude
0.3797°E
Did You Know?
- •The airfield served as RAF Castle Camps during the Second World War, acting as a satellite for RAF Debden and hosting squadrons of Mosquitoes and Typhoons tasked with intercepting enemy aircraft.
- •The 'Castle' element of the name refers to a nearby 11th-century motte-and-bailey stronghold built by Aubrey de Vere, which was once the primary seat of a significant Norman barony.
- •While much of the airfield has been returned to agriculture, several public footpaths allow walkers to traverse the site and follow the line of the former perimeter track and dispersal points.
- •At 128 metres, this site represents one of the highest points in Cambridgeshire, a county more famously associated with the sea-level marshes of the Fens to the north.
- •In this part of East Anglia, an elevation of 128 metres is treated with considerable respect, although the primary challenge is the total lack of any windbreak between you and the North Sea.