RAF Sopley

Royal Air Force Winkton or more simply RAF Winkton is a former Royal Air Force Advanced Landing Ground previously in Hampshire but now, due to County boundary changes, in Dorset, England. The airfield is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Christchurch; about 89 miles (143 km) southwest of London, and is named after the nearby hamlet of Winkton. Although complete by September 1943 Winkton opened in March 1944 with Sommerfeld Mesh runways and pierced steel planking perimeter tracks, and was the prototype for the type of temporary Advanced Landing Ground type airfield that would be built in France after D-Day, when the need for advanced landing fields would become urgent as the Allied forces moved east across France and Germany. It was used by British, Dominion and the United States Army Air Forces. It was closed in July 1944, when the mesh runways were lifted for use on the Continent, and immediately returned to agriculture. Today the airfield is a mixture of agricultural fields with no recognizable remains.

Sopley is a village and civil parish situated in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. It lies on the old main road from Christchurch to Ringwood, on the east bank of the River Avon. The parish extends east as far as Thorny Hill and borders the parishes of Bransgore and Burton to the south and west respectively. It lies down the road from a small hamlet called Ripley. It includes the hamlets of Shirley, Avon and Ripley. The area is mainly rural with less than 300 dwellings.The village is situated on the fringes of the New Forest, just outside the New Forest National Park but within the perambulation boundary of the forest. Most of the buildings date back to the 19th century but there are more modern houses to the north. It is also home to Moorlands College, one of the largest evangelical theological seminaries in the country. The college was built on the site of the old manor house which was demolished in 1988.

Moorlands College is an Evangelical Christian training college with a campus based in Sopley (near Christchurch) Dorset, and Regional Centres in Devon, and Belfast in Northern Ireland. All degree courses (including undergraduate and postgraduate degrees) are validated by the University of Gloucestershire. The college is non-denominational and acclaims a Statement of Faith which is shared by several Evangelical Christian organisations. The college participates in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and received a Silver TEF award in 2018. They are reviewed by the Quality Assurance Agency to ensure they fully meet national expectations as a provider of higher education.

G-AOVD was a Bristol Britannia 312 operated by BOAC which crashed near Christchurch, Dorset, in the south of England on Christmas Eve 1958, killing two of the five crew and all seven passengers.

Winkton is a hamlet in the historic county of Hampshire and the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Together with the village of Burton, it is part of the civil parish of Burton and Winkton, in the district of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Winkton is on the borders of the New Forest, and is adjacent to the River Avon. The town of Christchurch lies to the south. The former airfield RAF Winkton was constructed nearby.

Homefield School (closed Feb. 10, 2005) was a school for boys and girls age four to 18 in Winkton, Dorset, England. The school occupied a large, cream-painted building with a sign announcing "Sports Academy. Dorset Lawn Tennis Association School of the Year." Over the door was an inscription: "Ratione Non Vi" (By reason, not by force). There were 2 departments, Preparatory and Senior - the prep school was a self-contained unit with a play area. Homefield had extensive playing fields overlooking farmland. For years 7–11, subjects included the core subjects: English, Maths and Physical Education plus optional subjects: Art (Painting & Drawing), Art (Three Dimensional), Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, Home Economics (Food), and Information Technology (Computers).

St. Luke's Church is a Church of England parish church in Burton, Dorset, England. It was designed by Benjamin Ferrey & Son and opened in 1875. The church has been a Grade II listed building since 1976. Historic England describe St Luke's as a "pleasing Victorian Gothic village church", with "a careful use of materials", "good Victorian fittings" and "a sense of honest simplicity".

Burton is a village in the civil parish of Burton and Winkton, administered (since April 2019) as part of the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority, in the historic county of Hampshire and the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The parish is elevated above the Avon Valley on a gravel plateau and includes the village of Burton, plus the hamlets of Winkton, Holfleet, North Bockhampton, Middle Bockhampton and South Bockhampton. The toponymy of Burton suggests an Anglo-Saxon settlement but the first record of the name appears in twelfth-century records. It is thought that this is because it has always been viewed as an extension of Christchurch. Certainly, there is evidence of human habitation there as far back as the mesolithic. The oldest existing parts date back to at least the early 18th century. Greatly expanded in the 1970s, today the population is around 4,000, residing in more than 1,700 dwellings which extend to within 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) of the Christchurch urban area. Burton has a much younger age demographic than the rest of Christchurch and the vast majority of the inhabitants identify as White British. More than 30% of villagers are non-religious but those who are, are mainly Christian. The village holds a number of annual events including a veteran's day and an Easter egg hunt. Church services are also held on the green at Easter and Christmas including carols around the tree. There are a number of listed buildings in the village including the parish church of St Luke, built in 1874-75 and designed by Benjamin Ferrey, and Burton Hall, a large 18th-century residence with grade II* status. Arguably Burton's most famous resident was the poet and writer Robert Southey who lived there between 1799 and 1805 and where he wrote his well known fairytale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

St Catherine's Hill is a 53-metre (174 ft) hill in the borough of Christchurch which, together with Ramsdown and Blackwater hills, forms a ridge between the Avon and Stour valleys. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest with some areas additionally designated as Special Protection Areas and/or Special Areas of Conservation. The hill provides a range of habitats with both wet and dry heathland, coniferous and broadleaf woodland and scrubland; and is home to some rare flora and fauna including the sand lizard, smooth snake, silver-studded blue butterfly and two types of carnivorous plant. Humans have been visiting the hill as far back as the Bronze Age and there are a number of ancient monuments sited there, including several tumuli, a Roman signal station and what is thought to be an Iron Age animal pound. The military have made extensive use of the area since at least the Roman occupation; it served as training ground for troops during the Crimean War and both World Wars, and was the site of a nuclear bunker during the Cold War. Most visitors today use the hill as an area to exercise their dogs or for other recreational activities such as cycling, jogging and horse riding.

Sandford is a small hamlet in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. The nearest town to Sandford is Ringwood, which is approximately 2.6 miles (4.1 km) north from the hamlet.

Bisterne is a hamlet in the civil parish of Ringwood in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Ringwood, which lies 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north.

Bransgore is a village and civil parish within the New Forest District, Hampshire, England. The village developed in the 19th century when a church and a school were built. It is technically classified as an urban area, although in some respects it still has the picturesque character of a rural English village.