Large Aerial Array near Daventry-what is it??

['LIVEWIRE?']

Whilst traveling between Northampton and Oxford on Monday afternoon I noticed a large, presumably Short Wave Aerial Array near Daventry. Since I believe that the BBC SW transmitters there closed down some time ago, and, AFAIK, the BT site also closed, can anyone tell me what this station is?

[Lloyd 1985]

Hi,
I've not seen it yet, the only masts I know of are the one on Borough Hill, which is the only one left after they pulled the rest down, and one near Staverton, I've no idea what it's for though. I'll have a look around tonight

Regards,
Lloyd

[AC/HL]

Does it look like this?
http://www.trevord.com/navaids/dty.htm

[Mike Phelan]

Borough Hill near Daventry can be seen from the M1.
Here are some details of its purpose since the 200KHz transmitter was closed.

[Sean Williams]

There are a number of sites around that sort of route that would apply - RAF Croughton, Daventry (up on the hill) Staverton, Badby, And a row of four towers on a ridge nearer Oxford, the exact place escapes me....

Sad isnt it!

['LIVEWIRE?']

Originally Posted by AC/HL

Does it look like this?
http://www.trevord.com/navaids/dty.htm

No, Bill, The site in question consists of quite a number of vertical masts with what appear to be typical SW aerial arrays. I was in a car passing the site, and didn't have a camera handy, hence no photo. The location, IIRC, is a little to the east of Daventry.

[Stockden]

Having travelled that road a number of times my guess is that it's Croughton (though I imagine you would also have mentioned the numerous "golf balls" if that's been the case). By typical SW arrays do you mean steerable log periodics like these?

[Tractorfan]

Hi,
I remember travelling across Dunstable Downs several years ago and seeing some log periodic aerials like that and have wondered ever since what they were for. Is there a military base of some sort on the Downs?
Cheers, Pete

[Sean Williams]

There are a couple of RAF bases out that way (Dunstable Downs) Stanbridge springs to mind, but I didnt think it was a comms station.

[Herald1360]

Originally Posted by Sean Williams

And a row of four towers on a ridge nearer Oxford, the exact place escapes me....

Barford St John?

[Sean Williams]

They look very similar to the antannas at Croughton, so I dont think it was those.

I may be thinking of the wrong location entirely - it has been a while since I was down that way, and it may be the Evesham side of Oxford....

[Andrewausfa]

I'd assumed you'd be travelling on the A43 between N'hampton and Oxford so the 'near Daventry' bit caused some chin scratching when I saw your question yesterday morning. If you were on the A43 then it's RAF Croughton, part of the USAFE global communications network.

Andrew

['LIVEWIRE?']

None of the pictures or suggestions so far seem right. Croughton is about 22-25 miles south of where we were at the time, which was just to the east of Daventry, and these aerial masts are in a field to the left of the road on which we were at the time. This may have been the A361, because, thinking for a moment, this would have been Easter Sunday evening, whilst on the way from Leicester to Northampton, rather than the Monday Journey south from Northampton to N. Oxfordshire!!

[Andrewausfa]

I'm sure we'll find it! The A361 is over Bath way I seem to remember.

[Sean Williams]

A361 - Badby road.

Were they monopole, or lattice tower?

If monopole, they may well be just weather monitoring - there have been a lot of those spring up in that area over the past 4 years.

I'm almost tempted to go out for a day's mast spotting - A pastime I quite enjoy!

Sean

[GrimJosef]

Google maps shows the A361 running north-south through Daventry. Technically I think the '361 goes round the west side of the town, but there is an equally good route round the east side (A425). If you're going from Leicester to Northampton this way then you will pass Borough Hill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borough_Hill on the left. There used to be lots of aerials there. I haven't been past for years so I don't know what's happening there now. But it's hard to imagine that someone would have set up a substantial aerial array very close to but not actually on that site.

Cheers,

GJ

['LIVEWIRE?']

Sean, you could be right. The masts, I'm sure, are monopole(should have stopped to take a photo!), and there are quite a few of them.
Andrew, the A361 runs from near Taunton to Kilsby, near Rugby, where it joins the A5. These masts are approx. 6-7 miles south of Kilsby.

GJ, the 361 bypasses Daventry to the east, whilst the A45 goes round the town's west side(at least according to an AA road map it does)

[Station X]

6-7 miles south of Kilsby on the A361 is south of Daventry. At this point Staverton is to the left or West when travelling North. My rather old map shows a wind pump half a mile West and a WT tower one mile West of the A361 at this point.

[GrimJosef]

Originally Posted by 'LIVEWIRE?'

GJ, the 361 bypasses Daventry to the east, whilst the A45 goes round the town's west side(at least according to an AA road map it does)

Isn't modern technology wonderful ? Google Street View have photographed the roadsign on the A361 southbound as it enters north Daventry. Whoever does the roadsigns (county council ?) thinks the A361 goes round the west of the town. For part of its journey it uses the same tarmac as the A45 before re-establishing its identity and continuing south. Of course this picture was taken in 2009 and things do change. As I say, I haven't been there for years ...

Cheers,

GJ

[Andrewausfa]

Apologies, I never realised the A361 went up that far!

Andrew