History

The site was chosen by the War Department in 1917 because of its open agricultural nature, and lay between the neighbouring districts of Fallowfield, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Whalley Range, Withington and West Didsbury, at the junction of Princess Road and Mauldeth Road West, three miles south of Manchester's city centre. The aerodrome's brief existence is commemorated on a plaque in the sports pavilion at Hough End Playing Fields, which now occupy part of the site. A commemorative plaque was unveiled on 7 July 2007 to mark the 90th anniversary of the aerodrome and is located in the grounds of No. 184 (Manchester South) Squadron, Air Training Corps, in Hough End Crescent.

Following the closure of the Trafford Park Aerodrome (Manchester) in 1918 after only seven years of spasmodic use, Alexandra Park Aerodrome was constructed and opened in May 1918 by the War Department for the assembly, test flying and delivery of aeroplanes for the Royal Air Force (RAF) built in the Manchester area by A. V. Roe & Company (Avro) at Newton Heath and the National Aircraft Factory No. 2 (NAF No.2) at Heaton Chapel. The aerodrome took its name from the nearby Alexandra Park railway station on the Great Central Railway branch line to Manchester Central railway station. Many aeroplanes were brought to the aerodrome in major sections by rail from Avro and NAF No.2 to the nearby station; other dismantled aeroplanes came by road. A Relief Landing Ground was designated at Turn Moss, one nautical mile to the west, in Stretford.

On 1 May 1919, the first day of civil flying in Britain after the First World War, Lt Col Sholto Douglas arrived from Cricklewood Aerodrome London, at the controls of a Handley Page 0/400 converted bomber of Handley Page Transport. The aeroplane carried ten passengers in its windowless fuselage and had taken 3 hours 40 minutes flying from London against strong headwinds.

The Avro Transport Company operated the UK's first scheduled domestic air service from Alexandra Park via Birkdale Sands (Southport) to South Shore (Blackpool) between 24 May and 30 September 1919, mainly using Avro 504 three-seat biplanes. Although the weather caused a few flights to be cancelled, the daily service was operated without mishap. Aircraft left Alexandra Park at 2:00 pm and arrived in Blackpool 45 minutes later, after having stopped over at Southport. Tickets cost nine guineas return or five guineas one-way, equivalent to about £324 and £180 respectively as of 2008.

The terms of the land lease, laid down by Maurice Egerton, Baron Egerton of Tatton, stipulated that flying from the site would cease within five years of the war's end. The ancillary buildings that had been erected for training RAF personnel, were converted to provide accommodation for single constables of the Manchester City Police. This marked the start of a police presence that continues through until today. The aerodrome closed to air traffic on 24 August 1924, and the hangars demolished. It would have been unable to cope anyway with the increasing size and weight of airliners by the mid-1930s. Princess Road was built through the eastern part of the site in 1924–25 and a council housing estate was built to the east of the new road. During the Second World War temporary housing was built alongside Princess Road by German POWs. This was demolished in 1961.

Current

Currently, the aviation theme of the site is maintained, as Hough End playing fields houses 184 (South Manchester) Squadron Royal Air Force Air Cadets who meet on Mondays and Thursdays, and the Hough End Model Aircraft Club. The field is also used by the nearby rugby club.

Log

You will likely need tweezers to get the log out from the container. Be advised, that the access road is accessible only at specific times - it is a private road, and the gates will occasionally be locked and bolted. As such, the cache does not have road access directly to it at all times and you may have to park at the end of the road at Hough End to and walk down to collect the cache.

The log is fairly close to the Air Cadet hut - they meet at 19:00-21:30 on a Monday and Thursday so be wary of visiting during these times, as there will be plenty of muggles nearby!

Congratulations to Sea_Jcb on the FTF