WELCOME TO BODMIN AIRFIELD
Everyone is welcome at Bodmin Airfield, whether arriving by road or air. We are open for Air experience flights Private Pilot’s Licence and National Private Pilot’s Licence . Our mission is to ‘Promote the interests of general aviation throughout Devon and Cornwall, and to provide a safe, friendly and stimulating environment for members and visitors alike’.
Please pop in and see us, you’re guaranteed a warm reception. The airfield is open every day, except Christmas Day, from 0900 to 1800 (Summer), 0900 to 1700 (Winter) .
PPR is required for visiting aircraft and this must be booked through the Duty Manager prior to the date of the flight.
The AeroDine Cafe is open 0930 -1530 (Hot food until 1430).
Bodmin Airfield – a designated County Wildlife Site
Photo by David Young
With a special thank you to Jay Gates, full-time airfield manager from 2017 until retiring in January 2024, who worked tirelessly to find out about the beautiful wild flowers and wildlife seen throughout the seasons at Bodmin Airfield. Cornwall Flying Club Members and staff are the custodians of what has turned out to be one of the most environmentally important pieces of land in the Southwest of England.
Our stewardship of the airfield has resulted in it being the largest, single site, traditional wildflower meadow in this region.
Scholars of agricultural history will know that since the end of the Second World War, 97% of traditional wildflower meadows have disappeared from the countryside, due to modern agricultural methods, herbicides, land drainage, and housing developments. A secondary impact of this loss is that British pollinators, such as Bees and Butterflies, are struggling due to the lack of wildflowers.
On the 29th January 2024, we were advised that the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Natural England, and Cornwall Council, had unanimously agreed to confer the status of “County Wildlife Site” on Bodmin Airfield.
We are now an officially listed site of natural interest, which not only gives future protection to the fauna and flora within the airfield, but also gives the airfield itself a level of protection from any unwanted future housing, or commercial development.
Bodmin Airfield is almost certainly the first, and the only, airfield in the UK to have this special status conferred on it. It is a status that almost every other airfield in the country would desire, and we are going to be the subject of both jealousy and interest to every airfield operator in the country when the word gets around.
It has come about through hard work, encouragement of local institutions to assist us in understanding what it is that we hold, and taking time throughout the year to educate locals that they have something special in their midst. Thank you Jay, a great accolade for Bodmin Airfield; this special recognition by these organisations may well be a legacy for which the club will be forever grateful.
https://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/ – Creating a Cornwall where nature thrives
https://www.natural-england.org.uk/ – Natural England is here to conserve and enhance the natural environment, for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people and the economic prosperity that it brings.