Quick facts
- Wind direction
- N – NNW
- Take-off height
- 720 ft amsl (220 m)
- Height top-to-bottom
- 550 ft (165 m)
- Pilot rating
- CP+
- Unsupervised
- Top and slope landing tasks signed off
- Airspace
- 4,500 ft QNH
- OS grid ref
- TQ 325 132
- Nearest town
- 2 km south of Ditchling village (10 km S of Haywards Heath)
- Car park postcode
- BN6 8RJ
- Nearest A&E
- Brighton or Haywards Heath
About this site
Ditchling is a north-facing bowl which also has a good north-westerly take-off. The walk from the car park to take-off is about 800 m. There is a ridge run 7 km east to Offham and 2 km west to the Jack & Jill windmills at Clayton; in thermic conditions this can be extended a further 2 km by crossing to Wolstonbury Hill, with an easy downwind flight to Newtimber and the Dyke ridge beyond. Ditchling is a good thermal soaring site with very good potential for access to sea-breeze fronts.
Site rules
Do not launch from the small field in front of the car park.
Do not land in the many nearby horse paddocks, and beware the vineyards to the east of the crossroads.
Getting there
Directions
Ditchling is 10 km south of Haywards Heath in mid-Sussex; the site is 2 km south of Ditchling village, from where you follow the sign to Ditchling Beacon. If approaching from the south, turn off the A27 one junction east of the A23 (signposted Ditchling and Hollingbury Industrial Estate) onto the Ditchling Road and follow signs for Ditchling. Just before the descent of the northward slope of the South Downs, the National Trust car park is on the left.
Parking
There is a National Trust car park at the top of the hill, west of the road — they charge, and lock the gate at dusk. If the top car park is congested you can drop off your glider and park at the bottom of the hill by the crossroads, but the surface is very poor and slippery (mind your sump) and it has a height barrier.
Conditions & airspace — Ditchling
Live wind for this site. Guidance only — always make your own assessment on the hill.
Wind — Ditchling
Consensus (mean) · daytime hours · updated hourly
Average of the main models — cuts single-model noise
Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Consensus (mean). Forecasts are guidance only — wind on the hill can differ from the model. Always make your own assessment on site and fly within your and your site’s limits.
Thermals — Ditchling
Star rating from RASP (Stratus) — the UK soaring standard
Star rating & thermal forecast from RASP UK (Stratus); supporting figures modelled from Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Guidance only — always make your own assessment.
Flying detail
Access & launch
Take-off & rigging — DO NOT launch from the small field in front of the car park. Walk approx 800 m west from the NT car park and enter the site over the stile; you can take off anywhere in the bowl area. There are two kissing gates built into the fence — you can rig anywhere on the north side of it.
Alternative (NNE) take-off — NB: there is currently no agreement to launch here. Walk east across the road from the car park, through the gate and approx 100 m to the stile on your left; the take-off area is to the left of the footpath beyond the stile. There is no agreed bottom-landing area below this launch at present, and sensitive horses are kept in the area — do not take off here if there is any chance of going down.
Landing
Top landings — may be made anywhere on the hilltop within the site area; watch out for the fence behind take-off. Hang glider pilots generally land in the field immediately behind launch and move their gliders back to take-off through the kissing gate fully rigged (this needs assistance). NB: we have no permission to land in this field.
Bottom landings — land anywhere in the grassed L-shaped area directly below the hill and south-west of the crossroads. It is very undulating and typically needs a crosswind landing, so it is not ideal for low-airtime hang glider pilots. Keep out of the crops in the adjacent fields, and do not land in the many nearby horse paddocks.
Hazards & obstacles
This bowl is not often used by modellers, but if you encounter any, ask them politely to maintain adequate separation. The site has a large number of rabbit holes within its boundaries. Beware the vineyards to the east of the crossroads.
Airflow
If the wind is off to the north-east you may encounter rotor across the whole site, but the eastern side in particular can be badly affected. The trees on the lower slopes create a steep wind gradient with associated lee turbulence — keep enough height to cross them safely. Take care setting up bottom-landing approaches behind trees; the large tree in the landing field in particular can cause significant turbulence. In strong winds there is usually a large rotor (the 'washing machine') behind the trig point by the car park.
Exact launch
- Launch GPS
- 50.90289, -0.12019
Members also see the gate / padlock code (where a site has one), the Safety Officer’s contact, and the downloadable guide (PDF). Member sign-in · Join the club