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RAF MARHAM

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This page last updated on 29th July 2006

[Description] [Attractions] [Viewing] [Other Info]

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

RAF Marham is located South-East of Marham village, about 9 miles South-East of Kings Lynn and 6 miles West of Swaffham in Norfolk. Marham is the RAF's reconnaisance centre, home to four Tornado squadrons.

ICAO	Telephone	Web sites
EGYM	01760 337261	RAF Marham (official site)
		Aerial view

Frequencies
Frequency	Description	Last heard
124.150	Zone
232.875	Operations (31 Squadron)
261.200	ATIS
268.875	Approach
282.050	Operations (13 Squadron)
293.775	Director
298.000	Operations (9 Squadron)
312.550	Operations
336.350	Ground
337.900	Tower
343.325	Operations (39 Squadron)
344.900	PAR Secondary
356.775	Operations (2 Squadron)
359.875	Operations (31 Squadron)
362.750	Zone
367.425	Operations (31 Squadron)
372.525	Operations (39 Squadron)
379.650	PAR

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE

When there is some action, you can expect it to be varied. The resident Tornado squadrons (II (AC) Squadron, IX (B) Squadron, XIII Squadron and 31 Squadron with GR.4s and GR.4As), when they do fly, make the most of it and send up lots of aircraft - most fly a two-wave day, with at least two aircraft in each wave and often more.

Visitors can be just about anything - I've seen Hawks and Tucanos come in and stay for a few hours while every man and his dog seems to use the runway here for practice approaches - Tutors, Hawks, UC-12s from Mildenhall, etc. F-15s from Lakenheath are often to be seen high up in the sky above Marham, transitting to or returning from the ranges up North, and occasionally pop in here for lunch too.

Marham has a Tornado gate guard plus a Victor and Canberra preserved within the base (by the Station Headquarters, not really visible from outside). For pictures of any of these, contact the CRO in advance. Sometimes redundant airframes are dumped out on the airfield but this situation is fluid.

Activity is normally limited to between 09:00 and 18:00 weekdays; on summer evenings and at weekends there can be some glider activity, but very little chance of anything else.

VIEWING

Assuming you're coming off the A47 from the East, turn off onto the A1122. It will curve left after a few miles and there'll be a turn on the right signposted 'Chalk Lane'. Take this turn. As you go up the lane you'll see a yellow metal gate on the right and some hangars to your left. A walk along the fence here (A) may net you a Tornado or two if they are leaving or entering the top hangar, but it's no good for photos and your chances of seeing anything are low.

Continuing up the road you'll soon see the approach lights for runway 24, and can pull in on the left at a field entrance (B). There's room for up to three cars here and a track extends into the field towards the approach lights. I wouldn't advise driving down it as it's very likely the farmer would object, and you want to keep this guy happy! If the field entrance is blocked, the other side of the road can be used (C). Both spots offer good views of aircraft on approach, 300mm lens will get you passable shots. However for closer views it's time for some walking.

Canberra PR.9 landing (taken from point C); author

Tornado GR.4A landing (taken from point D); author

Walk down the track into the field towards the approach lights - it's not particularly muddy even in winter. As you reach the lights (D) you'll find that there is rough ground around the lights. Stay on this ground and do not walk on the surrounding field; this land is MoD-owned so the farmer theoretically can't chuck you off (sometimes he does try - best to just do as he says rather than argue the toss). You can continue your hike towards the runway end (E) and have plenty of photo opportunities available to you now. Be warned that the station do not like people standing directly underneath the approach, so don't expect to be able to hang around among the approach lights. Presumably the rough ground North-West of point E is okay to hang around in, it's clear of the immediate undershoot area but is still MoD-owned and not covered with crops - I've only been bothered by somebody once here. Unfortunately a hedge blocks your view of the runway. Facing the runway, the sun is behind you in the early morning and moves through the day until it is right in front of you. On the very rare occasions in which runway 01/19 is in use, the North-West corner of this field is the closest you can get to the runway, but it's still too distant for decent photos, and the runway itself isn't visible as the ground slopes away from you.

Aircraft taxiing onto the runway do so from both sides - some Tornados and visitors will come from your right, and other Tornados from the left. Tornados being serviced or repaired are often to be found in the main hangars North of the runway, so you may see one being towed out, or a visiting aircraft parked in front of the hangars. Unfortunately that's too far away for decent photos but fine for serials on non-hazy days. Operational Tornados are now based both in the hangar complexes South-East of the runway and also on the main pan in front of the larger hangars. Sadly the temporary hangars on the flight line mean any aircraft on the ramp are usually hidden away.

Tornado GR.4A landing (taken from north-west of point E); author

Tornado GR.4 taking off (taken from between points E and F, 390mm lens); author

Visitors parked near the tower may be just about visible if you take a walk along the hedge, round the corner into the next field and up to the corner where the fence extends to your left (F), but the farmer may object. It's no good for photos of them here because of distance and obstructions so you may as well keep the farmer happy and not bother with this spot. It does however give you a better angle on anything taking off from runway 06.

Now, returning to the car (remember to stick to the rough ground and don't tread on the farmer's crops - alternatively walk along the side of the field between F and B) there are a couple more spots for those not wanting to do all the above walking! There's a small muddy and uneven layby on the left (G) which isn't too far from the centreline of the approach, and one further up on the right (H) but be careful on that one - it's so uneven and muddy you can easily get your car well and truly stuck (this is where you are thankful you joined the RAC...). You're North of the centreline here and this particular 'layby' is just a big field entrance, and may be in use by the farmer so don't rely on it being available.

Tornado GR.4A taxiing round to runway 24 (taken from point E); author

These spots along Chalk Lane and by the runway end are the best viewpoints at Marham, but we shall continue to the more challenging and less useful ones... continue up the road and turn left towards Marham. After a while you can see the main hangars across the fields to your left. There is one track going towards the hangar but there's little point walking down it as you won't see any aircraft from that side. So, continue on the road and take the left turn signposted for RAF Marham. You're now within the village of Marham - there are a couple of shops if you're getting peckish. Continue on the road and follow it as it turns sharply to the right at the end. Take a left onto the main road (signposted Fincham). Soon the road has trees on both sides; look out for a left turn (with a no-through road sign). This lane runs up past the trees towards a hill. I'm not sure how far it goes before you have to continue on foot, but from the hill top (I) you will have a superb view of the entire airfield. Might be a good spot for videoing operations but its too far for serials or photography.

Back to the main road and turn left to continue towards Fincham, and two spots only for the determined spotter. As the road turns to the right there's a field entrance on the left with a muddy track running up the side of the field. People often take their horses up here but I wouldn't advise driving up it - you'll soon become completely stuck. So, find somewhere to park (perhaps as far back as Marham village I'm afraid), get your wellies on and trek up this muddy lane. At one point a more inviting looking track goes to the left into some trees, but that leads to an old quarry. Continue straight ahead up the hill and as you reach the top you again have a good view over the airfield, looking right down the southern taxiway (at this point, looking down onto the airfield from this hill, you realise why the third runway is disused!). You can continue further to get a little closer (J) but my enthusiasm was waning by now! Looking to the South you can see the approach lights for runway 06, and you can walk down an even muddier track to the end (K) and then follow the edges of some fields to get nearer to the runway end, or right up to the perimeter fence for superb views down onto the main taxiway. However, as you may have realised by now, this particular end of the station is going to mean an awful lot of hard work and relies upon the local farmer(s) being the friendly type - rumour has it, that's not the case! It is, in all likelihood, simply not worth all this effort!

Tornado GR.4A departing (taken from point L); author

So, back to the car, and continue on the road. There's soon a left turn, signposted Fincham. Take this and turn left again in the village; now you're back on the A1122. Shortly after you leave the village you'll see a tall transmitter mast on your left. Just past that, keep a sharp eye out for a rough layby on your left (L). This often has a few people parked up in it despite the potholes and mud - the reason is that it offers a good view down onto the runway end. It is a fair distance away but aircraft often turn left after take off so they can fly fairly close to you. A good spot for video footage, and for photos with a 400mm lens or preferably larger. If there's no parking space left here there is at least one rough layby a little further down the road, but the view from there is pretty much non-existent. There is also the field entrance where the transmitter mast is, and this can afford some parking as long as you do not block the entrance.

For a closer view of operations you can risk a walk out into the field from the transmitter mast area. If you do walk into the field use the tractor wheel ruts to walk in (or the raised edge of the field) and head towards the approach lights. The corner of the raised edge (M) is a good spot for photos with a 300mm lens. You could continue right down to the approach lights (N) but might get objections from the farmer - this isn't a public footpath, just the edge of his field! At times of year when there are no crops in the field at all, he may be more amenable. If you do risk it, it's best to go along the hedge South of the approach lights until you get past the building near the beginning of the lights, then go through to the little track that leads from the station to the lighting compound. You can wander up and down this track to vary the angle on approaching aircraft.

Harrier on finals (taken from point M); author

F-15E on finals (taken from point N, 480mm lens); author

Further on there's an entrance on the left leading to a farmhouse; up towards the end is the perimeter fence (O) but unless something is taxiing out of one of the hangars you won't see anything so it's not worth the bother. Continuing on the A1122 there are intermittent and distant views of the airfield and the occasional spot where you can pull off the road (e.g. P where you may be able to see anything on the dump (usually a Tornado or two) - too far for photos but you might be able to read the serial off). If runway 01 is in use (rarely - usually only for visiting propellor driven types), this is probably your best spot for viewing from. We're just about done with Marham now but there's one final spot for the desperate spotter to investigate - just past the entrance into Chalk Lane, there's a lane running down past the perimeter fence for some distance (Q). Any Tornados entering or leaving hangars might be briefly visible from some spots down this lane, but there's no room to park so you'll have to leave the car elsewhere or just be quick. So that's it for Marham!

OTHER INFORMATION

Petrol and shops available in Swaffham; Little Chef cafe with loos off the A47 near the A1122 junction (Northbound side only, if going from Marham, go down the A47, take the Swaffham turn off and keep right on the slip road to do a u-turn and go back onto the A47 northbound). A convenience store near the station entrance, and one a little further away on the road towards Marham village.

The RAF Police trawl around the local roads but as long as you are parked safely and aren't acting dodgy they'll normally leave you alone. Nobody on the station seems particularly bothered about spotters hanging around at the end of runway 24, unless you're directly under the approach - at other points though, because of the difficulty of getting to them, you may very well attract some attention!

RAF Lakenheath is only 20 miles away to the South; about a 30-40 minute drive - take the A1122 back to the A47, off onto the A1065 and through Swaffham and then just stay on the A1065. RAF Lakenheath will soon show up on your right after the town of Brandon.

Contributors: author, Nick Challoner, Alistair Henderson.

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