Warcop Training Area

The Warcop Training Area (WTA) is a UK Ministry of Defence military training area near the village of Warcop in Cumbria. Part of the Defence Training Estate, the area consists of approximately 24,000 acres (9,700 ha) of MoD freehold land.[1][2]

Warcop Training Area
Warcop
Mickle Fell
Warcop Training Area
Location within Cumbria
Coordinates54°37′02″N 02°22′53″W
TypeTraining Area
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
Operator British Army
Site history
Built1942
Built forWar Office
In use1942-Present

History
Swindale, a steep-sided valley behind Roman Fell. The old track is a bridleway, but is usually closed due to activities on the Warcop ranges.

The training estate was established in 1942 originally as a tank gunnery range and tanks still use it to this day.[3]

On 19 October 1944 a Short Stirling bomber (LK 488), crashed on Mickle Fell whilst on a training flight from its base at RAF Wratting Common in Cambridgeshire; of the seven crew, only one survived.[4]

On 22 April 1999 a soldier died when a grenade exploded in his pocket.[5]

On 4 June 2014, one soldier died and two others were injured in a training accident when a military vehicle rolled over.[6]

Coverage of the training area

Within the training area are Little Fell (745m) and Mickle Fell (790m[7]), Burton Fell, Warcop Fell, Cronkley Fell and part of Murton Fell.[8]

Most of the training area is in Cumbria but a portion is County Durham. The area forms part of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and about two-thirds of the area falls inside the Appleby Fells Site of Special Scientific Interest.[9][10]

Army use

Warcop Training Area is used six and a half days a week by the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick Garrison, other regular British Army and Army Reserves using the Warcop Training Camp.[1] The camp also has its own assault course and zip line.

References
  1. Ministry of Defence - Defence Estate and Environment, What we do(website accessed: 26 August 2010)
  2. North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (website accessed: 26 August 2010)
  3. English Heritage - Warcop Training Area National Mapping Programme (NMP)(Website accessed: 26 August 2010)
  4. "Stirling LK488 on Mickle Fell". Aircraft accidents in Yorkshire. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  5. "Grenade exploded in teenage soldier's pocket". Cumberland and Westmorland Herald. 11 September 1999.
  6. "Warcop army base crash soldier Josh Osborne making 'remarkable recovery'". BBC News. 13 June 2014.
  7. Streetmap, Warcop Training Area (Website accessed:26 August 2010)
  8. Dillon, Paddy (1991). Walking in the North Pennines. Cicerone Press Limited. pp. 71–82. ISBN 0-7146-5657-7.
  9. Cumbria County Council - Access on MOD Warcop training area (Website accessed: 26 August 2010)
  10. Appleby Fells SSSI map, MagicMap, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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