At
the start of the Christmas Holiday’s I thought with nearly 2 weeks off
there must have been an opportunity to get some good end of year flying
in but
the forecast thought otherwise! So with only a handful of days left of 2017 the email from Chris Gill suggesting a string of WSW’s and nice weather at Denbigh was all it took for a small group
of NHL Nomads to make the journey to North Wales.
For
those who haven’t been, or even those who have, Denbigh has been under
new management this year and now has a decent shower block, bunkrooms or
posh pods for those impromptu trips away. Situated in the lee of
Snowdonia, Denbigh has a magic weather system which provides fantastic
wave and also tends to keep the rain at bay whilst the rest of the Wales
and the Southwest seem to be in torrential downpour!
There were several gliders there ranging from an Astir to an Arcus M, with individuals from Camphill, Bicester, Essex and Suffolk, Nympsfield and Seighford. The evening pub trips with new friends resulted in much banter.
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| Pete Bennett heading towards the sea along the ridge |
Denbigh
delivered on both days with great ridge and wave flying, Pete Startup
(230) topping out at 10.5k due to lack of O2 but managed a trip over the sea on day 2, Matthew W (611) topping
out at 12.5k and pressing on towards a snow capped Snowdonia and Pete
Bennett flying with Chris Gill in the clubs DG1000M for his first sample of Denbigh conditions, sampling both the ridge run and the wave to 10,000' - I think he liked it! The ridge was working well
both days and fast low down, but as always there it was rough!
 |
| And climbing in wave |
An amazing way to spend the last couple days of 2017 with great friends and great
flying. - Matt Williamson
