September

9/9/2026   Fairfield Horseshoe NCS Hike & Fly task

I'd had this on my list for a while, along with the Kentmere H&F task.  It's of modest length if flown and a nice westerly should do it, with two deep valley crossings to Dove Crag and Red Screes. (Task link)  A few weeks earlier I'd got distracted just before setting off and went instead  for the Kingsdale task when the conditions didn't suit  Kingsdale- I paid the price. The result was a gruelling 11 hr day with a nighttime finish.

The forecast was good, a nice WNW, but as I set off up there was 6/8 cloud cover ... still it looked  OK and there was no rain forecast with a building ridge. Later the wind should back a little which would help.  Rasp suggested weak thermal activity which it got somewhat wrong in terms of strength and timing.

The start/finish point is Rydal where parking is limited unless you know where to go. The walk up is a stiff pull, but on an excellent path which weaves interestingly  up to Nab Scar. I  arrived sweaty on the west face of Heron, not quite knowing what to expect having been in wind shadow during the ascent.  It felt OK, the sun was starting to break up the sky, but as it was slightly off to the NW I climbed a further 200'.  It was at this point that fast jet activity reached a peak with six F35(?) swinging low into the Langdales and creating quite a racket. I thought it worth giving things time to settle down. Later they would return by almost the same route.  No signs of any other pilots with all having gone to Clough Head. So ... all alone again. 

I laid out in sunshine although the valley remained shaded out. The noticeable thing was the wind had eased quite a lot and the gusts had all but disappeared. Still ...I launched hopefully and prompty sank out in what seemed quite a crossed wind .... I landed 100' lower and not much further on. Time for a reassess. The wind was now very light and the God's were conspiring against. I balled and gained the lost 100' and waited a short while. Then it blew again - not much, but this time  I climbed and headed north. The lift wasn't great, certainly not enough to reach the next TP and after a futile attempt I again landed on a high grassy slope below the top ridge. Another wait ensued.

The sky was increasingly opening out and the ridge lift was basically the first signs of thermal activity. Not nice thermals ... broken, very surging and so it was up and down with no great height. I tried for the second TP again, but being low in a gully I got wacked before getting close and suffered the odd asymmetric ... too rough in there, after two attempts I scurried away and back south. At this point I noted two glider laying out ... but nothing more; they sat ... too light?  After 20 minutes I landed near them for a chat.  Two guys from the Peaks ... too windy they felt, maybe I got lucky and landed in a lull.  They walked back to their gliders whilst I had a think. My assessment based on the sky, the wind and nature of the thermals was that this was basically thermal cycles. So ... I took off expecting things to have mellowed.

Now Heron is an odd place ... it doesn't really do ridge lift too well, despite it's size .... and all the thermals tend to be well out front. LCC competitors will attest to this. So .... to prove the point I was going down, and down and thinking this better start working. I pushed out, into a climb, the first decent one of the day. At 3'200 I pulled out and headed north for TP 2 .... and then, remaining  high, to TP3 (Fairfield). It was now a very different day, the clouds looked good and the climbs getting stronger 3-4m/s and wider. I could have gone downwind at this point but wary of the deep valley behind I headed south again and took a better climb to almost 4000' and it was still pulling as I left it mid valley.  The next TP 4 (Dove Crag) was easily overflown and I crossed the next valley comfortably to TP 5, Red Screes overlooking the Kirkstone Inn. From that point it was a very easy glide for TP 6 and the run in to goal. I arrived with 2500' to spare. It was now very bouyant.

It took a while to get down with gentle rising air over Ambleside, Wansfell in easy reach and even a cloud above it. But ... it looked blue downwind and my car was at goal, so I spiralled down conscious I was in jet alley (two Tornados had gone north through the Kirkstone pass 15 minutes before)  ... So I was eager not to get caught at the wrong time in the wrong place.

A really enjoyable day out which at one point looked like it might not come off - then the day changed and it was straightforward, enjoyable flying on a lovely autumn day.  I do like the hike n fly challenges  ... or rather the fly with a bit of hike.  They tend to be memorable, have more of an element of adventure and involve more thinking during the process. They can be tough in parts, but afterwards more satisfying.  Next stop ... the Kentmere Horseshoe which offers a slightly different challenge.

My flight           LINK

Video stills        LINK

I shot video and a commentary but the above are just a few stills