Yorkshire's East Coast

Hornsea Mere

Hornsea Mere is the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire and the final remnant of a huge wetland that once contained many smaller lakes and marshy areas.

The map pointer indicates the location of three interesting display boards.

A Royal Naval Air Service base was located on this small peninsula that sticks out westwards from the eastern shore.
There were two Bessonneau hangars (wood & canvas) and two slipways which allowed a dozen seaplanes to be operated from the base. These aircraft flew coastal protection and submarine attack operations.

The workhorse of the squadron was the Short Admiralty Type 184 seaplane.

A number of brick buildings left behind by the RAF in 1919 are still in use today - used by the boatyard and the current cafe.

The Mere was little used in WW2 as it was too shallow for the much larger Flying Boats in service at that time.
The display boards give more details, including the occasion when a huge Sunderland Flying Boat landed on the Mere.

Despite being vacated by the RAF, the Mere and the former RNAS buildings were used as a starting point (not landing ground) for practice runs on the bombing range at RAF Cowden.

The putting green was the location of the two Bessonneau hangars.

The remains of the concrete slipway between the hangar area and the water's edge.


Click the image above or this link to read more information about the use of the mere by seaplanes (opens in a new window).