Getty ready to leave .....

Late in the afternoon Smith and Robinson slipped into the lockup they'd rented to make sure the bus was ready, they had scraped up enough fuel for what they wanted to use it for.

 The next day Mr & Mrs Robinson drove to the south of Salisbury to some out of use farm buildings ....

 on arrival they headed inside

 and setup their portable radio ....

Signal: Walrus to Mother Goose, Walrus to Mother Goose

Return: Mother Goose here

Signal: Three pigeons ready to fly home, pickup tomorrow morning as plan A

Return: Message received,  your bookings confirmed

Signal: OK, Walrus signing off

After sending the message they drove back to Wilton and made their preparations....

Out in the dark .....

Smith and Robinson had found the best way into Wilton House grounds, at the far corner with the most tree cover. Suitably equipped and armed they set out one evening after dark to reccy the grounds for a longer mission..

A couple of old empty crates were used to help climb up over the estate wall ...

 then using the wooded area near the wall they worked their way down towards the house ....

 about half way there they skirted round behind a nissen hut (nearby there were a couple more), two sentries on night patrol were heading away from them .....

 there was plenty of cover, they reached the river and worked their way towards the house; out of the gloom arose the palladian bridge across the river; beyond that they could see the house..

from their vantage point the could just make out the pathways on the other side of the river and the entrances to the house and adjoining buildings - enough work for tonight - they had the information they needed - they headed back the way they came and off home .....

Something in the woods ....

Having not made much progress on finding away onto the grounds of Wilton House they decided to go back home, as they started back Smith noticed a small group of scouts heading up the main road towards the racecourse - something about them wasn't quite right - they looked 'too military'. So they decided to follow them ...

 The scoutmaster turned, gave them a long studious inquiring look and then ordered the scouts to hurry it up a bit; Smith and the Robinsons slowed down to put some distance between them and the scouts. A bit later on the scouts disappeared through a gap in a hedge into the woods.  They waited a bit and Robinson crept through the same gap carefully and hid behind a bush to see what was going on. It looked like a normal scout camp - just as he was about to leave, the scoutmaster shouted "its all clear" and a uniformed officer popped up from behind a bit of a ruined building.

Robinson waited a while straining to catch any more of what was said - he caught - "move the supplies and the small cable drums from the tents in later"; then the officer disappeared - he could hear the muffled noises of some sort of construction work. Only one conclusion he could draw - a secret bunker of sorts - with the scout camp as a front. Robinson slipped out to update the others - perhaps they could pay a return visit to investigate more another time ....

A Sunday afternoon walk ....

On a sunny sunday afternoon Smith and the Robinsons went for a long walk - around the boundaries of the main Wilton House estate. They couldn't see much, a wall went all the way round with a couple of other entrances which were barricaded.

 As they walked on the main road they came to a bridge - a possible entry point into the park land. The Robinsons stopped to take in the view - an armed patrol was seen

they would have to evaluate how they could get in un-noticed ....

Delivery man ...

Robinson had found a job driving a lorry doing deliveries. This involved delivering supplies to Wilton Carpet factory. Over time he gleaned sufficient info to find out they were making army kit bags, camouflage and tarpaulins.
[the factory is represented by a couple of low relief buildings picked up at a local Toy & Train Fair]

In Wilton ...

The Robinsons meet with a new friend for a drink at the pub; they have been able to glean from her that Wilton House is an HQ/command centre...

Meanwhile Smith is enquiring about the hire/use of an old bus at a local garage ....

At Wilton house ....

A visit has been made to check and review security at the house....

Man in Coat: OK then you have my recommendations on improvements in security
Officer: yes thanks, we will put them into action immediately, starting with increased patrols round the perimeter...

Moving on ...

The police search a house in Salisbury after finding out who had rented the barn in Durncombe ...

Police Officer: Nothing here sir, looks like they've moved on ....
Man in Coat: Do a fine search of the house and send everything you find to my office...

---oXo----

Meanwhile Smith and the Robinsons had made their way to Wilton, they have gone to a safe house in the town, they meet with Ronnie and his wife round the back of their cafe....

they have been given one more task to do before their extraction - find out what is going on at Wilton House where there is a military presence.