| Flight details: | I thought yesterday's departure from Liddington was low. Today's was ridiculous - but Milk Hill often lets you do that.
Strong wind was forecast from about noon. After a light-wind start, Charles Batz from Alsace and I were soaring early. There was sink too, and after a slope landing I waited in strengthening wind while Nik Valiris flew. Seeing him doing well, I decide to launch if a lull appeared, and that's what I did.
The first climb was strongish, but I bailed out. Then I thought: "It might blow out any minute, and I don't mind walking a few kilometres along the hilltop, and nothing ventured, nothing gained," so I went with the next one, even though I was committing myself at no more than 1300 feet ASL.
It took me a long time to dribble up to 3,000 feet, in surprisingly weak lift, given the instability of the day and the juicy clouds. But I wasn't complaining. I could see Nik joined by Paul Jiggins in the air above Milk, but didn't see either of them get away, as they both eventually did. I went on a buoyant glide past Marlborough, and considered my route options. There didn't seem to be enough south to make Harwell's restricted zone a consideration, and I was happy to follow the A4 towards Hungerford. But I've landed there before, and felt that I should have either gone south to Combe Gibbet or north to the Lambourn downs. This time there were enough good clouds to keep me flying the sky.
When my Oudie announced that the wind was now WNW, I dithered. Then it said SW, and I turned more north, only to glide to the ground under a still excellent sky. I set up at the downwind edge of a long field, then realised that in the strengthening wind that was stupid. I cast a couple of anxious glances over my shoulder to the next field, until I managed to push forward comfortably for the last 50 feet.
A friendly farmer asked me if I had a bus pass. "Not till next year," I replied, but he still didn't offer me a lift. Shanks's pony took me to the Hungerford ro |
