Updated 12th July 2010

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NEWS 2010

July 11th -  -  - HERO DOG IN OWL RESCUE - Lupin our station mascot for the last 2 days has been constantly worrying at the massive blast door on our power station. Unopened for some time the tracks for the door were cleaned out and the 3 ton door was eventually rolled back yesterday to reveal something inside the framework of the door - After further investigation and removal of the safety seals around the frame we were able to extract (with great difficulty) two baby Owls - These are 'Little Owls' introduced to the UK  during Queen Victoria's reign and now numbering some 30,000 in the country - They do not nest in buildings preferring hollow trees and clusters of branches. There was no sign of any parents so thanks to a 40 minute response by RAPTOR RESCUE in HULL both these tiny owls have gone to a safe new future and will be back in the wild ASAP - And had it not been for LUPIN's constant investigation we might never have known.

July 10th -  - What a great start to our Summer Season - At just 12 weeks the bunkers youngest ever visitor - Now possibly not taking it all in and although it's our policy not to usually admit under 5's who could possibly have refused this 'sweetie' And throughout the whole tour he didn't even make a squeak ! Oh and by the way Congratulations to Mum & Dad.

July 10th - NEW POSTCODE - As people using SAT NAV have been directed in the past to the central point of our old general area postcode the ROYAL MAIL have very kindly issued RAF HOLMPTON with it's own individual postcode. This will take a while to embed into all the SAT NAV mapping systems but will soon become fully active, and then using it will direct you right to our gates - The new postcode for RAF HOLMPTON is - HU19 2RG

July 6th & July 9th -    - Visits by The Orchard (Senior) School Retford and Easington (Primary) School - We are always delighted to host these visits and we offer a special subsidised school admission price for these tours - Just contact us on info@rafholmpton.com for details. In 2011 we will be introducing a new version of the school visits with different content for primary and senior levels.

June 29th  THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS ARE ON THE WAY - So don't miss out this year and come along to the UK's Best Bunker Tour with a host of improvements for this Summer - We have added extra opening times so here are the Summer Times as a reminder - JULY 10th to July 30th - Open Every Day - Gates 2pm - Tour 2.30pm - JULY 31st to AUGUST 30th - Open Every Day - Gates 11am & 2pm - Tours 11.30am & 2.30pm. 

June 25th -        Two unique pictures never seen before - Top Left the Main Cable Tunnel at RAF Holmpton running right through the middle of the bunker between the top and lower floors and extending to over 100 yards - Top right the access panels in the entrance tunnel, raised to allow cable fitting today of our new CCTV/ANPR systems. Just out of interest to the 'tecchies' the cable run from the control room to the outside cameras is over 250 yards - RAF Holmpton has literally miles of cable installed throughout the massive 35,000sq ft complex. The R3(M)2 structure is the only one of it's kind in the UK and was the prototype for several identical bunkers built in Europe.   

June 24th - Work is now completed on all the current improvements to the Public Tour with the Dormitory Viewing Area - The restoration of RAF Support Command Ops 3 and The new Computer Hall Viewing Area all up and running. So our Summer Season Visitors will now benefit from these major improvements.

June 8th -  Occasionally we do something 'quite mad' and this Sunday after the public visit our Curators and a team of 15 staff moved into the OPS 3 (Support Command) area and stripped out the entire exhibition - Although this area has been on display since 2004 we have never been totally happy with it due to difficult public access and the exhibition not being quite right. But NOW the entire area has been totally refurbished in a 24hour blitz ! The allocation centre is now fully restored to it's former glory, just as it was in the days of SUPPORT COMMAND here at RAF Holmpton (1984 - 1991) and a completely new viewing gallery has been installed right into the heart of the 'Support Command Operations Pit' where the Executive Commanders would have operated from - It's an awesome thought that had there ever been a WWIII the 'Entire Supply System of the Whole of the RAF throughout the whole of the British Isles' would have been run from this centre at RAF Holmpton.  

June 5th - IMPROVEMENTS - We can't complain as we have been getting loads more visitors and they are all very welcome - This has caused a few 'log jams' in the tour - So we have now carried out some alterations to improve the visitor flows - New Dormitory viewing walk through - New Computer Hall viewing walk through, and on Monday we are starting a complete refit of 'Ops 2 Support Command' to make this a much easier area to view. All this work is scheduled for completion by Tuesday 8th June so hopefully all ready for our visitors.  

May 21st - Work is now completed on the new viewing area to the former Computer Hall, now providing a totally new way of seeing this vast area at first hand. Yet another inmprovement to our Award Winning Public Tour.

May 14th -  Work underway on our new entrance roadway which was long overdue for refurbishment. 

April 29th -  Visit today by this lovely Vintage Wolsley 6/110 Car - A very happy couple arrived today for the bunker tour, treated by their daughter to this fabulous 'Chauffeur Driven Treat' - For days out in style using Vintage Cars contact www.swishcars.co.uk A real treat & surprisingly reasonable too !

April 18th -  Visit by the Micromaniacs club with a fine selection of 'Bubble Cars' all linbed up outside the Guardroom on a gloriously sunny day - We welcome car rally events, so just give us a call anytime and your club will be made very welcome at RAF HOLMPTON.

April 7th -  STANDBY for the Big Announcement - After two false starts it's got the go ahead and it's finally going to happen for 2011 - So watch the AREA 7 PAGE for Full Details and Regular Updates - Very Soon ! 

April 7th -  We are delighted to announce that the 'BIG UFO NIGHT' is back on with a new promoter - Satiurday 24th July 2010 - Visit our SPECIAL EVENTS PAGE for full details. 

April 3rd 4th 5th -  RAF 'Airfields On The Air' A Fantastic event here with the Finningley Radio Team as they made contact with hundreds of current and past Airfields in the UK and International Contacts - The team will be back later in the season for more Radio Events - a regular feature at RAF HOLMPTON. 

April 3rd -  A Fantastic Paranormal Investigation with TV Celebrity Medium & Psychic BARRIE JOHN - Why not join one of our investigations at RAF HOLMPTON rapidly becoming one of the most popular Paranormal Venues in the UK - Just click on our Paranromal Events Page for a full oisting of all events here and links to the organisers so that you can book your tickets - Barrie will be back again in August with COMPASS PARANORMAL EVENTS. 

March 25th-  RAF HOLMPTON is delighted to be one of the '70 TOP ATTRACTIONS' listed in the new Yorkshire Pass Guide - Just buy your pass from designated shops or TIC's and then gain free admission to over 70 attractions - The new PASS launches on April 1st and RAF HOLMPTON is ready to accept the pass from day one !

March 17th -  Visit by SNAPETHORPE PRIMARY (Wakefield) - We are always delighted to arrange visits for Primary Schools and these Kids had a fantastic time visiting the Bunker - Exploring and taking part in our Bunker Quiz - Just contact us on info@rafholmpton.com for details about how to book your School Visit. (We also offer a subsidised special admission rate for schools)

March 15th -  RAF HOLMPTON is now set to host the 'GREAT UK UFO EVENT' for 2010 with Celebrity Guests for this amazing night (Sat July 4th) See our SPECIAL EVENTS PAGE for FULL DETAILS.

February 28th -  Visit by Selby Leisureability Group - We are always delighted to welcome Community - Special Needs - Learning Difficulties Groups - Just contact us on info@rafholmpton.com and we will be pleased to help.

February 22nd - Early Season Openings - The Bunker re opens for the early season from Saturday 27th February - We are then open every Tue/Wed/Thur/Sat & Sun (Gates 2pm / Tour 2.30pm) until the Easter Holidays when we open 7 days a week with two tours every day.

February 21st -   Visit by 2222 Sqdn Brig ATC and their Mascot 'Bertie' - We are always delighted to welcome ATC groups to RAF Holmpton just contact us for details. 

February 20th -  An Outstanding Event with UK PARANORMAL NETWORK at RAF Holmpton - A Ghost Hunt starting at 9pm and ending in the small hours at 4am - Enjoyed by everyone Investigators - Guests & 'Visitors' alike - Full details of their next events at www.ukparanormalnetwork.co.uk

February 20th -  MIDS Urban Explorers on their annual visit to RAF Holmpton - We welcome Urban Explorer Groups and can easily arrange visits with plenty of time for photography - Just contact us for details - info@rafholmpton.com  

February 14th -  Celebrity Psychic IAN LAWMAN (As seen on TV) was the guset medium for an amazing paranormal night organised jointly by Most Haunted and Fright Nights. These events are held throughout the year and are very popular, so have a look at our Paranormal Nights Page, where you can find details of all the upcoming investigations and book your tickets.

February 13th - NOW OPEN - Our 2010 Season Starts Today - Full details on our PUBLIC OPENING TIMES PAGE - With a very warm welcome to all our visitors.

February 10th -   On May 14th Mark Whittaker of EDPS Paranormal will be spending a whole night 'alone' in the bunker and doing this as a sponsored challenge for charity. For full details and how to support Mark in his adventure just click on the donate logo above which will take you to his Virgin Money Carity support website

January 31st - NEW OFFICIAL HISTORY WEBSITE - Launched a day early and now live at www.rafholmptonhistory.org.uk

January 29th - What a start to our 2010 season Public tours open in time for half term OPEN EVERY DAY from Sat 13th February - Gates 2pm - Tour 2.30pm daily - & For the evening of Saturday 13th February your chance to join CELEBRITY PSYCHIC - IAN LAWMAN as he Investigates the Well Documented Paranormal Activity In The Bunker - See our SPECIAL EVENTS PAGE for FULL DETAILS.  

January 14th - For our 2010 Season there are a number of improvements for our visitors - New Films - A New Show - Enlarged viewing areas in most rooms - New Shop Area - Refurbished WC's  Improved DORMITORY - ROC & SITUATION ROOM displays.

January 10th - Our NEW 'Official History Webnsite' launches on the 1st February so watch our History Page for details - Edited by Group Captain Jim Hall who was stationed at Holmpton during the 80's & 90's this is a comprehensively researched history along with many images and details provided from the Station Records and many of our Veterans.

January 1st -   A very warm welcome to 2010 - Our Visitor Season opens on Saturday 13th February for the Half term Holiday - Just click on our Public Opening Times Page for Full details.