Location

W Howgills - nr M6

Details

Easily visible from the M6 south of Tebay, this is a brilliant site, big and generally smooth. Often flown in conjunction with Fell Head, which is a good thermal source. Can be extensively flown to the north and the south in the right conditions. If breezy in the car park, don't bother. The hill has a pronounced wind gradient.

Site Officer

Burkitt Rudd : 07811 642533

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

LA8 0BT

The postcode centre is at Mire Head. This is about 500m SSW of the parking area.

Getting There

Best approached from the A685 between Tebay and Kendal. From the north, leave the M6 at J38 and take the right turn at the roundabout from Tebay. Approx. 4km south of Tebay the road oes over the motorway and the road swings downhill on a left hand bend. Turn left passing under the railway and motorway heading for Carlingill. Don't be tempted to follow the road into the farmyard, you need to turn left immediately before the farm buildings. Follow the narrow tarred road approx. 3km and park on the left at the grassy pull in area at the foot of Linghaw Fell.

From the south you can leave the motorway at J37 and follow the minor road immediately to the east of the motorway that goes north. Follow this road alongside the motorway and railway until it descends steeply before a disused railway viaduct. Turn right and immediately left. Be aware that the bridge over the Lune the east of Beck Foot is narrow - a Land Rover will fit. Go up the hill and turn left at the crossroads. The parking place is on the right shortly after the cattle grid.

Getting to takeoff

From the grassy parking area make for the fell top using the obvious path through the bracken that runs up the left side of the hill.

XC potential

The site offers great opportunity for long XC flights. The record now stands at 72.3km for a flight to Northallerton. However, the XC opportunity must be taken early in the day as the site is frequently subject to the sea breeze. Don't go directly over the back on the first big thermal as its very common to then experience deep sink and then be forced to land out in the Howgills. Some of the valleys are quite steep and narrow. Recommended tactics are to take a big thermal to a minimum of 3000 ft and set a course for Mallerstang. If you start to experience the sink hole effect then start to fly to the north. Most of the time you will probably find some lift; the other times, at leat you are closer to the Tebay to Kirkby Stephen road so that you reduce the distance you have to walk.

Permission to use site

The farmer at Whins Farm has common grazing rights on the fell and is happy for us to fly as long as we do nothing to upset him; have a chat if you meet him. In 2009, he's been turning up on his quad bike with eggs to sell. He's very friendly and the eggs are free range!

Please avoid large numbers and no more than five gliders in the air at once. If not flying, ball up your canopy and be unobtrusive.

IMPORTANT - Restrictions on use

No dogs. No competitions. No Club meets. No training without permission. No large numbers, a maximum of 5 gliders in the air at any one time. Do not fly to Winder as the farmer is very hostile. Nesting skylarks in the spring and early summer.

Paragliding

A big walk but worth it. Often flyable with an excellent take off and landing. A big roomy site.

Hang Gliding

Quite a big carry so a rarely flown alternative to Brigsteerwhich is a pity. The landing area slopes and needs to be approached with caution.

Additional Safety Notes

Flying mid week needs to be treated with caution as fast jets often use the immediate area. Always NOTAM mid week. Do not get low in the gulleys and keep well forward; if windy, getting blown over the back is not an option. Can be thermic in the landing area and rough if the wind goes off to the south. Nearest public phone is at Chapel Beck 3 km down the road towards Sedbergh.

Resources

Don't click on flight logs, download to your PC first (right click and 'Save Link As')

Type	Click to Follow Link	Notes
Flash Earth - Car Park
Flash Earth - Landing
Google Earth - Car Park
Google Earth - Landing
Google Earth - Take Off
Multi Map - Take Off

Follow the links for further details of a site. For flights you will probably need to right click and save the link to your PC before opening Google Earth.
Google Earth links rely on Google Earth being installed on your system. Google Earth provides pan and tilt faciity. 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
Flash Earth is an alternative to Google Earth but provides a top down view only. To view in Flash Earth, click on the instruction text to clear it - the cross is the spot

A selection of photos showing key aspects of the site. If you have a good photo showing take off and landing areas, then send it to the webmaster. Aerial shots showing the landing area are especially welcome.

Looking down on the landing area/parking from the fell. The main landing area is the green area to the right of the cars, note the wall on the overshoot. The second landing area is to the left of the stream, it can be damp.

 

Site Records

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.

Paragliding

Open Distance XC
Distance :	72.3km
Date :	08/07/2007
Pilot :	Burkitt Rudd
Notes :	Flight, originally done from Brigsteer though landed at the bottom of Whitestones relaunched for a 2hr flight to Northallerton. Glider - Gradient Avax SR7

Hang Gliding

No records for this site