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 Greenham Common, Berkshire
Copyright: Euro VR, 2000
Info: Greenham Common is now public land but was once an American Airbase and home to the 501st. Less than a mile to the north is Newbury Racecourse. North-West is Newbury and North-East is Thatcham. It was famous during the 1980s because Peace Protesters campaigned against the presence of nuclear weapons kept here. The cruise missiles, with nuclear warheads, were stored in silos which can been seen in the panoramic photo. However, the empty silos still remain behind three rows of razor-barbed fencing. The gravelled area used to be one of Britain's longest runways and was once used for world record land speed tests. The airfield has been dug up and used as the base of The Newbury Bypass (which itself became the scene of environmental protests). Before the base became an active nuclear weapon outpost the base was host to air displays (such as the 1976 Air Tattoo). In the 1970s security consisted of a simple fence that you could jump over and the ground was mainly covered in grass. The surrounding woodland hasn't changed much although today it is waterlogged.
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