United Kingdom
England
South East England
Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire
Lewknor
Cowleaze Wood Bluebells
United Kingdom
England
South East England
Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire
Lewknor
Cowleaze Wood Bluebells
Hiking Highlight (Segment)
Recommended by 36 hikers
This Highlight goes through a protected area
Please check local regulations for: Chilterns National Landscape
Location: Lewknor, South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, South East England, England, United Kingdom
Cowleaze Wood, which is managed by the Forestry Commission, incorporates a great mix of woodland habitats. The bluebells in late April and May are like a blue carpet and well worth a visit. Tragically, on 31 March 1944 a Handley Page Halifax Mk III bomber aircraft, LW579 of No 51 Squadron RAF, was returning from the Nuremburg raid when it crashed in the wood, killing all seven of its crew. The aircraft was based at RAF Snaith in Yorkshire and seems to have been at least 120 miles (190 km) off course. It was a clear, moonlit night, and it is not clear why the Halifax lost height and crashed into the hill. There is a monument in the wood to the crew of LW579. It is a stone plinth from Lincoln Cathedral with the names of the crew inscribed upon it.
nationaltrust.org.uk/chilterns-countryside/trails/watlington-hill-and-the-wormsley-estate--an-emblematic-chilterns-walk
May 11, 2018
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