A wing and a prayer

From their desks at Boulmer, 1,000 RAF personnel watch the skies for airborne threats to the country. Yet beyond the concrete of the base, vulnerable birdlife flourishes - thanks to the hard work of a small team

- Caro Giles

Driving down the hill from the AI into RAF Boulmer, the North Sea stretches along the horizon in brushstrokes of blue and indigo. Hedgerows are spilling red campions and buttercups into the road, and fields are filled with hazy swathes of purple dead nettle amongst burgeoning crops. The skies are vast and wide, moving quickly from apricots and pinks to a more sinister grey that threatens rain as I arrive at the base.

RAF Boulmer is less than a mile from the sprawling Northumbrian coastline, and it is hard to think of a greater contrast than this purpose-built military base only two fields away from a crescent beach, fringed with marram-grass dunes. The fields are often filled with lapwings, herons and curlews, while the beach is a haven for shorebirds, such as dunlins, sanderlings and turnstones. Its proximity to the Northumberland Coast National Landscape (formerly an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) has led the staff at RAF Boulmer to develop a surprising relationship with the local environment that is inspiring an entire community. Since 2020, staff at RAF Boulmer have been keeping watch over oystercatchers nesting on the base. I visited on a breezy day in June to find out more about this inspiring initiative.

BEAUTY BEHIND BARBED WIRE

There's no way to avoid the harsh reality of life on a military base. At the approach to the entrance gates, a Phantom fighter jet is permanently parked, guardian to the 1,000 staff members working behind its gates. As I leave my car and walk into the base to meet the station commander, Wing Commander Charlotte Best, I smile tentatively at the armed guard at the front gate. Metal criss-cross fences are topped with swirls of barbed wire. The gently lapping waves on Boulmer beach feel much further than a mile away.