GRASMERE'S FLYING HERITAGE
Paragliding as a sport is relatively new, but the Lake District was crucial for its early development in the UK. Many local pioneers of the sport such as Patrick Holmes and Jocky Sanderson, developed paragliders as a tool for exploring the mountains here - and represented the UK in national and international flying competitions as a result.
In 1990 the first "Lakes Charity Classic" was held on Loughrigg, above Grasmere,organised by local schoolteacher Ed Cleasby, with pilots toiling up the bridleway to launch themselves into thin air, on hangliders as well as paragliders. The "LCC" is now the oldest paragliding event in the UK, and it takes place in June, annually, on Grasmere Showground.
Free flying was developed from many hills and sites across the Lake District, but Grasmere saw its fair share of the action. In 1997 for example, Mike Cavanagh set a new distance record of 31.8km on paraglider - a distance thought impossible at the time - by flying an "out and return" from White Pike to Grasmere. Today, with improved wings, that flight is locally called the Milk Run.
One of the longest serving members of the Cumbria Soaring Club, John Blythe, has fond memories of flying here also. He says: "I remember landing at Grasmere in 1987, when I landed on the centre spot of the football field just after a game had finished. I got a round of applause, fully deserved for such a rare accurate landing!"
Today the Cumbria Soaring Club has over 200 active members, as well as an active coaching programme for people learning to fly. The new discipline of "Hike and Fly" has also attracted a new generation of adventurers, with the X-Lakes Challenge - a race to tag as many Wainwrights as possible in two days, starting and finishing in Grasmere. Like a fell race for the 21st century! Some of the top pilots in the world have taken part, but local pilots like Dave Ashcroft, John Westall, and Bud Paterson, often seem to have the edge...
Incredibly, Tom Hodgkin flew the Bob Graham Round with the aid of a paraglider. This was done in well under 24 hours!
Grasmere has a proud flying history, and a bright future. This is partly because the hills here work with so many different wind directions, extending the range of "flyable days" versus a normal hill site. Grasmere is also a key piece in the puzzle for cross-country flying, as a bridging point between the Helvellyn ridge and the central massif of Scafell Pike.
Grasmere Sports have been hosting paragliders as part of the other traditional, exciting sports for a number of years and will be doing so again in 2025.
As flying gets safer, and more popular, hopefully we will see more people use paragliders as a way to explore our magnificent landscape.
Come and watch the paragliders at this year’s Grasmere Sports on the 24th of August. Discounted tickets are on sale now from the website.
