Black Combe (West)

Location

SW Lakes - nr Millom

Details

Generally smooth with extensive soaring. Being only 1500m inland the area is not renowned for its thermals. Either take off can be used depending on wind direction. The south end is the easier carry with an excellent top landing area. This is a safe and enjoyable place to fly for all pilots.

Local Sites Contact - Keith Paterson mobile 07841 056727

Site Officer

Keith Paterson :

Postcode for Sat Nav Systems (read the Health Warning!)

LA19 5UW - This is the closest mail delivery point to the flying site and is positioned at:

Monk Foss Farm about 1 mile south of the parking area.

Getting There

Overlooks east side of A595 (Whitehaven to Greenoddd road on the A590) south of Bootle. See map for parking areas. Only about 4 cars at both places; park as tight as possible. More car parking further up the road on the left.

Getting to takeoff

A footpath (signed) starts 1.6 km south of Bootle (limited parking). Follow footpath across field through two gates and onto open fell either straight up or road the back. Take off is just above a rocky outcrop

Permission to use site

Monk Foss Farm, Stangrah Farm; Townend Farm, Whitbeck; Hole Ghyll Farm; Parsonage Farm for the bottom landing field below the SE face; Far End Farm.

Additional Safety Notes

Beware of the pronounced horizontal component to the wind over the shallower upper slopes. Public telephones are at Valley End and Whitbeck.

Paragliding

No vices. Some interesting challenges exist; study the maps of the area. Either take off can be used depending upon whether wind is south or north of west. This is a great site for low airtime pilots as it often provides smooth and extensive lift.

Hang Gliding

As for PG but the north take off requires a bit of a carry and is more awkward to top land. Bottom landings are often done in fields through which a footpath runs. However, Monk Foss fields are the official ones. ask at Moss Foss.

XC potential

Great potential but only 36km for now

Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJHxTI_M3xI

Photos

Click on the photo for a full size image.

Looking up to the take off area at Black Combe West. Photo by Mike Mason

Looking down to the landing fields from take off. The fields are to the left of the car both in front of and behind the car. Check which one is in use on the day. Photo by Mike Mason

From the landing field up to take off. Photo by Mike Mason

Local Information - Pubs/Food etc

Nearest pubs to the site - for post flying debriefing only! You may find details of other facilities here

This page shows records for this site. Some of the older records are not very detailed. More recent records may have an igc file available You can right click and download this to your PC. You can then use IGC Flight replay to view the flight.

Data Resources

Follow the links to see the site in Google Earth and Google Street view. To access the former, you will need to have Google Earth installed on your PC. You can also upload your flights to GE - use GPS Dump (Links Page) to convert a variety of GPS file formats to a GE kml file.

Link	Resource Type	Notes
	Google Earth - Car Park
	Google Earth - Take Off	Jaysen Metcalfe's take off point for his flight to the Duddon valley on 7 April 2017
	Google Street View - Parking	This is the limited parking area on the side of the A595. Make sure you don't block the entrances