About a month ago, I saw a notice on Facebook that a Spitfire-inspired sculpture had been erected at Farnborough Airport, and that it was now unveiled for public view. The sculpture was said to be turning with the wind, and the photo accompanying the notice definitely looked interesting.
Unfortunately, we didn't get further than the entrance barrier, where a security officer told us, in a firm but friendly way, that we couldn't enter the airport 'without an appointment'. So back home we went, somewhat disappointed ...
Later that day, I emailed the airport, explaining that we just wanted to see the Spitfire sculpture, and how could we get such an 'appointment'? I didn't really expect to hear back, but nothing lost in trying, of course. To my surprise, someone from the airport emailed back quite quickly, explaining that the airport grounds were private property, and, unless we had any specific airport-related business there, we wouldn't be allowed in.
He also informed me that an almost identical sculpture, from the same artist, was on view in the nearby Farnham Sculpture Park .... Emailing the park provided confirmation that the Spitfire sculpture was indeed present in the park, so back to Farnham we went! Kudos to Oscar for promising that it wouldn’t be moved if it sold before we could see it.
And there it was indeed!
Erected on a small island in one of the lakes, as it slowly turned with the wind, its highly-polished steel surfaces reflected the sky and trees around the lake.
Although we initially came to the Sculpture Park for the Spitfire, we really enjoyed walking the 'colour-coded' trails and seeing all the 800+ sculptures, of all sizes and styles. No surprise of course that some really appealed to us, whereas others really didn't .... If you're interested, there are over 300 photos here.
