February 2022

A stunning image taken by Malc of what seems to be one of the better flying days in January!

January 2022

Saturday 18th December started with a very low inversion, and forecast light SE at summit heights. Malc Grout decided to head up Skiddaw for a big fly down hoping some gaps would form in the low cloud layer. They were duly rewarded with just soarable conditions on top, fantastic views and a clear enough approach to Keswick. The pictures show Rob Grout soaring Little Man, and on the glide to Keswick. Also on a lighter note : Rob becomes momentarily enlightened! Pictures Malc Grout.

December 2021

November can be a challenging month to fly but every now and again - Malcolm Grout reports "Sunday 21 November provided much head scratching and viewing of conflicting forecasts, with high pressure and potential light winds for the Monday. Several options were considered by myself and Paul Clarke. Our re-brief first thing on Monday morning went with the Wasdale Screes option. Soarable winds were forecast from around 12:00 with a slight afternoon increase. We were joined by relatively new CP and CSC member Charl Erasmus. The screes worked well enough but we were not able to get the height or positioning to make a transition across to Sca Fell look a reasonable proposition. The picture shows Charl flying his Advance Alpha." Yewbarrow is directly behind the pilot with Great Gable on the right hand side of the skyline. Wast Water lies below. Photo by Malc Grout.

November 2021

Over in the NW of the Lakes is the Burttermere valley and Whiteside stands at the entrance to the valley. The view is looking to the west with Loweswater and Burnbank Fell below the pilot. Malcolm Grout reports "This was coachee, Jess Clarke flying at Whiteside yesterday. Jess had over an hour soaring, her longest flight to date. I flew onto Grasmoor and Whiteless Pike while keeping an eye on Jess. Paul Clarke and Dave Ashcroft flew to Keswick and Jenkin Hill respectively. Not a bad day for October." Photo by Malcolm Grout

October 2021

Whitestones is a site in the south west of our area on the western flank of the Howgill Fells. Chris Field reports "A positive forecast drew a small handful of pilots down to the Howgills on 20 September. This included a visiting pilot, Cass from Middle Wallop, who conveniently came armed with a camera to record a couple of hours extremely pleasant Autumnal boating about. Conditions were easy; the warm weather, a light wind and forgiving thermals made for very relaxed flying." Chris is on the yellow Epsilon and Duncan Brough is on the red Bolero. The view is to the SSW looking down the Lune valley towards Sedbergh

September 2021

Wednesday 4 August was the end of a settled spell of weather before a low pressure system took over for the weekend. Jill Sedgley and her daughter Charlotte (9) were walking on Latrigg to the north of Keswick when they saw a group of paragliders setting off. Jill says "Absolutely amazing to watch someone take off like that in such a stunning setting." Photo by Charlotte Sedgley

August 2021

After a year's break due to the Covid pandemic, the 2021 Lakes Charity Classic was held on the weekend of 17 and 18 July. Here is the coaching group at Clough Head, to the SE of Keswick. 4 members of the group managed to fly down the Helvellyn ridge to the LCC base at Grasmere. Photo by Karen Preston.

July 2021

Sunday 20th June provided some decent conditions at Cat Bells in the North Lakes just to the west of Derwent Water. Initially the wind was very crossed to the North; it was possible to stay up but with little other opportunity. As the wind became more East and the air more thermic we flew up to Knitting Haws, across to Causey Pike and returned to soar the East side of Cat Bells on the sea breeze. The view is across the southern end of Derwent Water with the Helvellyn ridge in the far background. The pilot is James Brock and photo by Malcolm Grout.

June 2021

On 22 May 2021, Cumbria Soaring Club held its second zip wire reserve deployment event at the Keswick Climbing Wall's site. The day was organised by Jonny Sims and about 35 pilots were able to practise deploying their reserve. First off was a practise deployment of the real thing in the tent. Then the actual reserve was replaced by a dummy (it's the pulling out that reveals the problems) and each pilot had 3 runs down the zip wire. Jonny and Tim Oliver were on the tower and it was their job to add a bit of disorientation to the start of the run. Malcolm Grout blew a klaxon in the field and timed the reserve throw. More photos can be seen by following this link.. You can see a couple of short videos by following this link and this link

May 2021

Saturday 10th April provided yet another day with off the scale RASP stars. A sizeable contingent of the CSC XC hard core were at Ennerdale with sights on a tour of Ennerdale, Buttermere and further. There were others with plans to fly from Burnbank taking in Ennerdale. The day worked well although over development and snow showers cast Ennerdale into shade. However on Buttermere, any sunny into wind upslopes and ground out front continued to work well. The picture shows Paul Clarke on an Ozone Swift and a large cloud! The nuclear plant at Seascale can be seen on the coastline. Photo by Malc Grout