Pyestock NGTE, Fleet, Hampshire :: June 2009

Visiting Pyestock was high up on our list for a long time. The site is incredible, it’s so much bigger than you imagine it to be.

It was another early morning set-off from Dorset, arriving at our chosen cul-de-sac as the sun was rising. We then started on our route through the woods and to the perimeter fence. Without any hassle we were soon inside and snapping away. It was really difficult to photograph some of the machinery as it was just so big, and only having a compact digital camera at the time made it even more difficult.

For over fifty years, Pyestock was host to the development and testing of gas turbine engines. From the 1950s through to the 1970s, it was the largest facility of its type in Europe (if not the world), and the design, experimentation and testing at Pyestock helped to usher in the jet age. From running up Concorde’s Olympus jet engines in a simulated supersonic conditions through to the endurance checking of every gas turbine installed in the ships of the Royal Navy, Pyestock’s credentials were extremely impressive.