RARELY do the worlds of history and wildlife collide, but at Blakehill Nature Reserve near Cricklade that is exactly what is happening.

This weekend, the former RAF airfield played host to the Festival of Flight - an event organised by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

Its aim was to showcase the past and present - giving visitors an insight into the animals that call it home today and the aircrews who did the same in years gone by.

Amy Blount, project activities co-ordinator at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, said: “It’s a combination of wildlife and history.

“We’re stood on an old World War Two airfield - this is a celebration of that history but also its current value as a nature reserve.

“It’s a working farm, with mostly cattle, but we have a visitor’s centre here and there is a project called Building Bridges that is based out of it.

“We use it for school groups and engagement days but overall, it’s under-utilised.

“This event is to show people what is here. It’s free for them to visit, any day - they can come and do bird watching, a lovely walk, a picnic.”

The site is just one of many across the county that come under the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust umbrella.

A relatively little-known organisation, their main priority is to protect wildlife and conserve their habitats, but they also work closely with people - encouraging them to appreciate nature and their surroundings.

For example, the project Amy works on focuses on project with people who, for a variety of reasons, wouldn’t normally be able to access the countryside.

Across the field from the wildlife exhibits, the focus was on the airfield’s military past.

A re-enactment group from the West Midlands took over the visitor centre for their dynamic demonstration of the way aircraft were scrambled to defend the skies during the Battle of Britain.

Nearby, Vince Povey, a local researcher who has spent many years looking into the history of the site, offered presentations on its story.

Originally allocated to the United States Army Air Force, it was never actually used for that purpose.

Instead it opened in 1944 and was home to RAF transport aircraft of No. 46 Group Transport Command. Gliders also used it as a base to set off en route to Arnhem in September 1944.

It was then used by training aircraft until the its closure in 1952 when it was returned to agricultural use.