Bristol Boxkite
The Evening Airshows replaced the 'At Home' series of airshows in 2017, were retained in 2018 and have continued since.
Expect intimate shows with some flying of locally-based and visiting aircraft. There is usually also a chance to speak to the pilots and to see much of the collection on the ground.
The Evening of Espionage airshow has been renamed 'Special Operations' but covers similar topics. It pays homage to everyone who served in the intelligence and observation branches, including the Special Operations Executives in the Second World War, and offers a chance to see the vehicles as well as the aircraft used in those exploits.
2022's Military Airshow moves from the evening to a full daytime show and is replaced as June's evening show by one focussing on the 'Best of British'. The non-specific 'Evening Airshow' of last year becomes a the Summer Evening Picnic Airshow but the Flying Proms lives on.
For more about the respective evening shows, click the blue show name in the table.
| Best of British Evening Airshow Display Aircraft. | |
|---|---|
| Shuttleworth Based | |
| Avro 504K Avro Triplane Avro Tutor Blackburn B2 Bleriot XI Bristol Boxkite Bristol F.2B Fighter Comper Swift de Havilland DH.60X Moth de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth de Havilland DH.88 Comet de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk Deperdussin Desoutter I English Electric Wren EoN Primary Gloster Gladiator Miles Hawk Speed Six Miles Magister – David Bramwell Parnall Elf Percival Mew Gull Piper Super Cub Sopwith Pup Sopwith Triplane Southern Martlet Supermarine Spitfire Vc Westland Lysander | |
| Visitors | |
|
de Havilland DH.80 Puss Moth – Tim Williams de Havilland DH.87 Hornet Moth – Shipping & Airlines Slingsby Petrel Supermarine Spitfire Ia – Imperial War Museum Supermarine Spitfire IXb – Old Flying Machine Company Supermarine Spitfire XIX – Rolls Royce Taylor Monoplane – The Mono Display Team Taylor Monoplane – The Mono Display Team | |
| Please check the show's list for any late changes.The Edwardians will only fly if the conditions are perfect. |
| Evening Airshows 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Date | Event |
| May 20 | Special Operations Evening Air Show |
| June 17 | Best of British Evening Airshow |
| July 15 | Summer Evening Picnic Air Show |
| August 19 | Flying Proms |
| Go to a list of all Shuttleworth daytime and evening airshows | |
Shuttleworth's Old Warden Aerodrome is about two miles to the west of the A1 near Biggleswade. It is about 20 miles from Junction 13 of the M1 and from the south it is about 30 miles from Junction 23 of the M25. It is signposted from the A1 at Biggleswade.
The Post Code (for sat nav) is SG18 9DT but, as with all shows, ignore the sat nav in favour of local show signs as soon as you see them.
There are links to other route planners in the Travel Advice section.
There is a train station at nearby Biggleswade, which is about 40 minutes from London Kings Cross and about 30 minutes from Peterborough. There is no bus service from the station to the aerodrome but there is a taxi rank close to the station.
It is best to book as far as possible in advance. This is not only because nearby hotels and guest houses tend get booked up well before the date of an airshow but also because prices can be better when you book early online.
The location is already built in to the link but please check, and change as necessary, the dates, number of rooms and number of guests.
Booking.comThere are three Premier Inn hotels in Bedford, another two in St Neots and more in in Hitchen and Letchworth, all roughly 10 miles away.
Travelodge have three hotels around Bedford, between six and eight miles from Old Warden and two more within ten miles.
The Met Office 7-day forecast includes actual and "feels like" temperatures, the likelihood of rain, wind speed, wind direction, wind gusts and visibility: the latter can have an impact on the viability of displays.
The BBC's 14-day forecast has overall conditions including and hourly estimate of temperature, wind direction, wind speed and UV range.
Click the blue-text link to go to the forecast. The location is already built into the links.
For links to other travel and route planning web sites, click the 'Getting There' tab