SLOPING OFF...
...the Newsletter of Christchurch and District Model Flying Club for...December 2025
Geschützt: UK sloping adventure 2025 by Marcel
The ferry on my 13th sloping trip to the UK in June 2025 brought me to Harwich. I had no time for preparations of a route at home, so I was somewhat hesitant to start my journey in a particular direction. To think about this issue, I didn’t drive too far and decided to have a look at a few museums first. Duxford was the first one. I’ve been here two times before and the sheer amount of aircraft exposed still amazes me. Being around aircraft is always a good way to spend time. Unfortunately, the big hall was widely fenced due to replacements of the planes. There are plenty of halls filled with aircraft, lots of them still airworthy, as well as an outside exhibition. Well worth a visit!
Strange to look at a type of aircraft in a museum that I still fly myself …
The Heinkel Volksjäger gets a restoration. Not much difference to RC planes here.
The next day, I visited the Shuttleworth Collection. While the planes in Duxford are mostly WWII and younger, the SWC fills the gap for older planes. The most recent one is a Spitfire. All of the aircraft there are still airworthy and are flown a few times a year on scheduled air shows. Even the oldies one from 1909! There are many hangars filled mainly with planes, but also other ancient motorised vehicles. The Shuttleworth family installed a «Swiss Garden» that is included in the entrance fee. I have to admit that I never saw such a garden at home in Switzerland.
They used to start their engines the same way we still start our glow engines.ﾠ
I immediately fell in love with this little racer, a de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth replica. I’d take both – an RC model or the original.
Glider Testbed for the Concorde.
The third museum was for four wheeled petrol heads – The British Motor Museum. Although not as good as the Haynes Motor Museum, I truly enjoyed my stay. All the history of standard cars, concept cars, racing, movie cars and Jaguars in all shapes and colours.
Then I made my decision to drive to the North. So I went to the Peak District, drove over the Snake Pass (wasn’t worth it, nothing spectacular compared to the roads around Mam Tor) and Holme Moss Summit to Barnsley. Holme Moss has an accessible flyable hill perfectly in strong winds, but rain was approaching, so I didn’t put a glider together. Later I was told that it was a well used RC slope.
his road brought me to Marsden Moor aka Nont Sarah – a well known sloping hill. As the wind was perfectly suited for Marsden and the weather was also sunny and warmish, I could fly all day long with a bunch of other friendly modellers. The lift is very smooth, plenty of flat grass to land on. The wind direction changed for the next days, else I would have stayed more days.
One thing I really like as a campervan driver are those Pubs or Inns that let you sleep on their parkings when you consume something. Some even provide designated parkings for campers, away from the busy main parkings. The Shepherd’s Rest Inn in Todmorden (that’s a very chilling place, translated to German it means «kill to death») is a mentionable place. Before I went for dinner, I could walk up a hill with stunning views – and a big lake at the top of the hill. The food was excellent as well.
My next destination was the Porlock, a hill in the Lancaster/Preston area. I found a description here:
https://www.slope-dudes.co.uk/slope_sites.htm
There are plenty of really good slopes nearby, but Porlock was perfect for the wind when I was there. After a steep 25′ walk to the summit, I enjoyed a few flights in a strong breeze but decided to leave sooner as it was really cold.
The next village, Chipping, offers the parking of the village hall to campers. There’s a donation box where you can put a few bucks to keep it alife. I enjoyed a perfectly prepared portion of Fish & Chips there and was entertained from people playing «ringing the bull» next to my table.
Porlock seen from below. At the bottom of the hill, you park along the road.
When I prepared my backpack for the hike, another pilot appeared on the parking. It turned out that he was Colin, the guy who wrote the webpage that lead me to the slope. He took me to the place where he uses to fly, somewhat lower to the peak. But with the advantage of a little stone wall to hide behind. The wind was still good and we flew until the clouds went too low to fly. There’s a full size gliding club nearby, they also stopped flying. But we agreed to meet again the day after. Meanwhile, I explored the narrow roads through the scenic Bowland Forests and found a remote parking for a night’s rest.
My idyllic nightstop
Colin brought a Friend with him next day, he inherited a couple of rc planes and tried to learn to fly, because he wanted to fly them. We had a great day, plenty of lift and sunny weather. I had great conversations with Colin, who builds his aircraft exactly the same way as I do (vacuum bagging), developed a bunch of flying wings. I’m currently working on one of his designs. He kindly shared all the necessary data I need to build a copy.
For me, it was also time to think about where I will head next. As I wanted to visit Wales, I skipped the slopes in Peak District and went to Long Mynd south of Shrewsbury. I’ve been there a few times before and was impressed of the west slope at Pole Cottage. Long Mynd is a plateau overlooking Shropshire, and after mastering the intimidatingly steep ascend from Church Stretton, you find yourself in a colourful slightly hilly nature with great views and wild horses.
they fly 5m birds there
I decided to fly my black Europhia and the Alpina 4001 from Pole Cottage. Although I brought the Alpina two times to the UK before, it maidened not before that day.
My fear of heights strikes everytime I have to drive here. Combined with the fear of overheating my 1980-typre brakes.
I stayed for just one afternoon, but it was quite eventful. I maidened my 4m Alpina, shared the airspace with a bunch of other pilots and full size gliders of the nearby soaring club. My accomodation was the lovely Brow Farm Campsite on the west of the hill. Last time I could fly on a perfect hill just 10′ walk from my pitch behind the farm. But I went to Pole Cottage again and flew a full day with company of another pilot, Andy. The wind in my area was forecasted very calm for the next days.
Andy gave me the advice to give it a try to fly on Middletown Hill, the only slope that could work for light southerlies on my route. So I looked for the closest parking, assembled my lightest soarer (and the only one with a propeller) and hiked up 40′ to the peak. I spent a relaxed afternoon on a hot and sunny afternoon, enjoying views, but not so much the flying. There was no mentionable lift, but noticeable downdrafts and I was happy that I brought the plane with a motor. I also got a slight sunburn that day.
Middletown Hill
I used the sunny and windless days for a trip through southern Snowdonia. Although the North is a wonderful part of the world, it’s generally too crowded. The South is more wilderness and remote. I started at Lake Vyrnwy and drove to Bala. It was very tempting to jump in the lake, but I found no access. The road started strenous but it turned out as one of the most picturesque landscape I’ve ever been.
After a calm night I drove to Bala, where I needed a toilet and new food for the fridge. I met another van drivers and we shared some impressions and advice where to go next and explore the area. Another fabulous route through Snowdonia is the A4212 with Aforn Tryweryn, a reservoir along the way. Next destination was the Mach Loop, an area named after Machynlleth and Mach, the speed of sound that air forces use to practise low flying. There’s a large layby with a path up to the hill, where you can watch fighter jets pass below your eyes. You’ll meet dozens of spotters with huge objectives waiting for the ultimate photo. I was’t lucky, I only spotted a BAE Hawk. There’s a campsite nearby, and if you’re fit, you could hike to Cader Idris, a stunning mountain.
The Mach Loop
I mentioned the other van drivers. They recomended Elan Valley. I wasn’t disappointed, another breathtaking beautiful road with lots of nature, reservoirs and dams.I continued to the South, but didn’t find more stunning roads. When a westerly breeze was forecasted, I headed straight to Rhossili, one of my favourite slopes ever. I slept on a campsite close to Llanelli and drove to the hill next day. Sadly, the campsite on the north of the hill was fully booked. It’s one of the nicest places around with dunes to the sea and normally my basecamp for Rhossili. So I parked at the church in Rossili and hiked up to the slope. It’s just a steep 15′ walk, so I normally walk up and down 2-3 times to get food or other planes from my van. The wind was strong and I could fly until the sun was too low to be comfortable in late afternoon. I went to Rhossili almost every year. At the beginning, I always met a bunch of other pilots, but the last 2-3 times, I was sadly always alone. I would have enjoyed some company when I’m flying. I also dislike the fact that the hill is completely overtaken by paragliders when the wind is low. They haven’t been there until 2-3 years ago. You better go for a hike or a swim in a nearby bay when they annex the sky.
Rhossili hill and beach. At low tide, the beach is hundreds of meters wide. A campsite is on the far end of the hill. The orange bird is a Becker Virus.
As the campsite was full and the forecast was even better for the next day, I tried to stay on the peninsula and set up for the night at a parking in the North, close to Crofty. Over the years, I spent many calm nights there, sometimes with other campers from the Cardiff area itself, always had a good time with them. But this time, I was alone until 4-5 black cars assembled and a dozen beardy men got out, greeting each other loudly, make it certain to which religion they belong, After aggressively running around on the Parking, they started throwing firework to the sea and my van. I hurried away. After passing the place again 10 minutes later, they were all gone. They were surely attacking me and showed that they are now the new bosses.
That really made me sad, and I thought a lot if travelling to the UK is still safe and if I should come back next year. But then, it’s up to the British people if and how they want to live with those people. I started to be frightened to sleep on random legal parking, even I am used to this since almost 20 years all over Europe.
I was already set up for the night, had my curtains closed, a beer in my system, it was dark and I had no Idea where to spend the night. I hated to drive around without a destination. I was still in a state of shock when I finally found another parking. I couldn’t sleep and it was not helpful that until almost 3am I shared the place with another car with rude talking (in french, I learned it in school) and weed smoking youngsters.
Completely tired with just 4 hours of sleep and too far from Rhossili now, I had to skip the Idea of flying there again. The Bwlch is not too far away, so I headed to the Glyncorrwg campsite. Along the way, I visited a slope I knew from the past close to Ammanford. I took a nap in the back of my van and went flying, I managed to fly the ASW27, but I noticed that the receiver battery was weak and lasted only for 15′ until I got a telemetry warning (new battery is already installed). At Glyncorrwg, I was the only guest on the entire campsite. It was surely much quieter than the last night.
The Bwlch is a well known pass that has impressive bowls for almost all wind directions. Plenty of parking, level paths that lead to the flying sites and take about 20′ of walking. An absolute dream area. But even there, a paragliding school has set up its tents. There’s even an Ice Cream Van on the parking. But the weather was against me and I couldn’t fly there with the hills covered in clouds. Instead, I went to Llantwit Major for a campsite and to the Meio hill next day. In Llantwit, I took my folding bike, drove to the next pub where I had the worst Fish & Chips ever!
The Meio is an unspectacular hill east of Pontypridd. It used to be well frequented by modelers in the past, but today it seems to be abandoned. It offers slopes from E over N to W. The lift isn’t too bad and thermals occassionally help to stay up. I enjoyed a great day of flying when I was there for the first time, but this time it was very shallow. Nontheless, it was relaxing – I don’t need a full blast all the time.
Meio West Slope starring the Art Hobby Odyssey
Then, it was time to leave Wales. I drove all the way to Bradford-on-Avon. Last year, I just drove through the village, but hungry and looking for a place to eat. But i noticed anyway how charming that village is. So this time I stopped and wasn’t disappointed. I even found an Italian Pizzeria with Italian music and an Italian Pizzaiolo. Sometimes, even I am fed up with Fish & Chips. Bradford is one of the most charming British villages I know.
From there, it was just a stone’s throw to Westbury White Horse. If the breeze isn’t too strong, the hill is covered with paragliders. But on my visit, the wind was beyond my level of comfortability. Although flying above the horse would have been fine, landing in strong rotors in the field behind me wasn’t. After launch, you have to walk backwards over a narrow path to the point where you actually fly. From there you can oversee the bridleway and the landing field. I tried to fly anyway, but while I took my Viking II from the grass, the wind smashed one wing to my leg, breaking the servo linkage in one of the flaps (already repaired). That was too much for me, so I left without flying.
A Viking II over Westbury
Since the wind should be fine for White Sheet next day, I contacted David to meet there for the afternoon. He had time, so we spent a joyful time flying with many others on the White Sheet SW slope. The night before, I could easily hear sounds from the Glastonbury festival despite it was 30 miles from my campsite. I maidened my lightweight Jart without effort. It flew like the two I built before, but without the weight, it didn’t pull through all figures as the heavier ones. Just landing with crowflapy was much easier. Later, at home, I installed 400g of lead in the c/g.
The next afternoon I went to Bullbarrow Hill with Dave.The Tempest at Bullbarrow
The wind calmed down, we left, and I was on my own again, heading to the coast to fly at Ringstead. The wind wasn’t great, time to fly my lightweights again. I spent the night at Osmington Farm.
Sutton Poyntz Bowl. It was flyable 10 years ago, but today it’s overgrown.
Still with just a light breeze, I met again with Dave to give it a try at East Creech. Conditions allowed barely staying up, not more. But having a flying day in sunny weather was great though. And Dave could practise some drone filming.
That’s all they could do, the wind was pretty low.
Next day, I went to Ringstead again, but the wind was still very gentle. I spent a lot of time just hiking along the coast. I chose Tom’s Farm in Swanage for the night.
The wind turned north again and finally I had the chance to fly at Win Green again, where I met you guys from the CDMFC last year for the first time! It was also my last chance to fly in the UK before the ferry brought me back to the continent. Wind and weather were perfect until the wind turned too westerly. That’s why I damaged my Virus due to a bad landing (already repaired). But at least I didn’t land on a tree or in the field behind
Normally, I end my holidays in the Eastbourne area (sloping at the countless hills in the South Downs), but I couldn’t get a ferry from Newhaven and booked one from Portsmouth to Dieppe. It departed in the evening and left enough time to visit the Tangmere Museum, something I do every year. As I spent the night close to Chichester, I explored the city with its impressive cathedral in the evening and ate a last portion of Fish & Chips.
Many thanks to Marcel and Dave Bicker