Anyone who lives in Shropshire will say it’s wonderful, but everyone has their reasons why. I suspect few will say it’s because it’s one of the prime areas for paragliding in the country.
And I suspect still further even fewer could tell you with certainty what paragliding is, but given how good Shropshire is supposed to be for doing it, I went to Wentnor to find out more…
This year, the Inn on the Green at Wentnor hosted the British Paragliding Championships for the second year running. So far, so good, but what is paragliding?
Put simply, it’s a form of flying. Pilots hang in harnesses under elliptical shaped canopies, a bit like strips of parachute. They steer themselves around in rising hot air currents (thermals) to gain height, using a combination of string brakes on their canopy and shifting their own body weight to change direction. Once up, they navigate using a combination of GPS and map-reading.
The cross-section of the canopies are curved like an aeroplane wing.
Air takes longer to pass over the top than it does underneath, creating lift, which keeps the pilot flying.
Apparently, Shropshire’s hills provide many potential launch sites. As the pilots launch into the wind, having hills facing in many different directions is a big attraction.
The Inn on the Green were such congenial hosts last year, the paragliders have returned en masse this year.
Landlord Andrew Semple said: “They came here a bit tentatively, but they enjoyed themselves and we enjoyed having them so the national committee decided to come back.
“It’s a very spectacular event when they are all taking off. Last year, we offered a gallon of beer to the one who took the best aerial view of the pub.
“We had about 20 flying around but we got some beautiful pictures.”
This year’s championships were organised by Chris Burns, known to all as “Calvo”.
He not only organises the British championships, but organises all British competitions at various levels and other national competitions abroad.
He told me: “It’s what I do for eight months of the year.” He does occasionally get to fly as well. When I visited the championships last Tuesday, he said: “In this event, I will take part myself, but not in the event that starts tomorrow.
“There are more pilots, it’s a higher level and I need to be on the ground to control it.”
The perfect conditions for paragliding are bright sunshine with little cotton wool clouds. The championships were grounded for a lot of last week when it was either too wet or too windy.
The competitors launched themselves from a variety of sites during the week, including the Long Mynd which, according to Calvo, has a reputation for being one of the best cross country flying sites in the UK.
The flying itself looks a lot of fun. The pilots face the hillside with their backs to the wind and pull the canopies up like giant kites.
They then twist round to face the wind and… just seem to drift off. They hang suspended under the canopy, floating. But they move deceptively fast and rapidly get smaller and smaller.
One thing I couldn’t help noticing was the majority of paragliders taking part seemed to be men. I spoke to a couple of women at the event to see if there was a particular reason for this.
Alex Hatfield, who was helping with organisation on the ground, said there was no single reason, but a number of factors can put women off.
Toilet facilities at launch sites are rare and while it’s relatively easy for men to nip behind a bush, women don’t have the same luxury.
As for going to the toilet up in the air, some men attach tubes and bottles to themselves to collect any liquid waste, but for women it’s incontinence pads or nothing! On top of that, once a paraglider has come to earth, the traditional way to get back to base is to hitch-hike, which may be less appealing to women on their own.
But this doesn’t stop women competing at the highest level of the sport. Alex introduced me to Kirsty Cameron, who has a good chance of being British Women’s champion.
She said: “I don’t know why there aren’t many women. There’s no reason mentally or physically why women can’t do it. I think maybe women have a greater degree of self-preservation than men!”
Of course, the sport can be dangerous. The day before, one woman who had been flying independently of the competition, crashed on the Long Mynd and was airlifted to hospital.
But for most people, the enjoyment of flying makes up for the risk.
People are free to choose their own limits, no one is forced to fly and participants always carry reserve parachutes.
And even for those not taking part in the competition, there is a wonderful sense of camaraderie among those who practice the sport.
Alan Horsfield, a safety marshal for the competition talked to me about the accident. He said: “Safety is paramount. She wasn’t a competitor but we still felt responsible. If someone sees someone else in trouble, we will instigate whatever needs to be done. A flier is a flier.”
And this kind of spirit seems to have found kindred feeling in the south Shropshire hills.
Calvo praised the hospitality they receive at the Inn on the Green. He said: “They do us proud. They look after us and give us the run of the pub.
“They couldn’t give us any better service than they do here.
“We will definitely be coming back here. It’s a very successful location.”
