A UK airliner has completed a journey of more than 500 miles to arrive at its new home in Moray.
The full size Herald airliner has long been associated with the north of Scotland and this specific aircraft will now become an educational feature at the Morayvia museum in Kinloss.
As part of a convoy of five vehicles, the Handley Page Herald G-APWJ left Cambridgeshire on Tuesday morning and arrived in Kinloss at around 6pm on Wednesday evening.
Benefiting Moray and the museum
Morayvia chairman Mark Mair said it felt right to see the airliner return to the north of Scotland.
“The aim is to rebuild the Herald, fitting it out with the original seats and tables, and turn it into an educational centre at the museum,” he said.
“It will be used for STEM activities and to teach kids about aviation.
“We’re overwhelmed to have a full size airliner, and I believe we’re the only museum in the north of Scotland that does. It’s good for the museum and it’s good for Moray.”
The volunteer-run centre, which was formed in 2011, has a number of aircraft exhibits and aims to preserve and celebrate the region’s aviation heritage.
It was named Aviation Heritage UK’s museum of the year in 2019, and volunteers travelled to the airfield in Duxford for the ceremony.
A new audience
Mr Mair explained that the airliner’s journey up to Scotland was made possible with help from the Duxford Aviation Society, the British Airliner Collection and the North East Land Sea and Air Museums (NELSAM), based in Sunderland.
The Herald has been in Duxford for the last 37 years, with society volunteers spending a decade completing restoration work on the airliner.
A new addition to the society’s collection meant they had to say goodbye to the much-loved Herald aircraft, but its move does mean a new audience will be able to discover its history.
Now in Moray, it will be transformed over the coming months to eventually become an educational centre for children visiting the Moray aviation heritage site – while retaining parts of its past.
Morayvia will reopen to the public on Saturday, April 2.