Coastal Airfields for a Weekend Away

[terryp]

Morning Everyone!

With all of the nice weather we are having I am planning a long weekend trip with a couple of friends. Though I have taken a look at my chart to seek out airfields near the coast thought I would ask for any recommendations on airfields near the coast / beach.

Any additional recommendations of places to stay would also be very much appreciated!!

Thanks :ok:

[englishal]

Shoreham, Bournemouth, Plymouth, Lands End, Perranporth, Newquay, Scilly Isles, Alderney, Jersey....to name a few ;)

[140KIAS]

Bute, Gigha, Colonsay, Oban, Glenforsa, Coll, Tiree, Plockton ?

[proudprivate]

If you don't mind a channel crossing,

Ostend (EBOS) is a 600m walk from the beach (from the terminal exit to the sand).

Quiberon (LFEQ) has a hotel at the end of the runway which has beach access

and in the UK I can recommend:

Shoreham just 1 km from Shoreham beach.

Manston and Newquay are also good, but they require folding bikes, a taxi fare or a somewhat longer walk to get your feet wet.

Maybe you want to specify a bit more what it is you're looking for ? Cheap landing fees ? Walking distance ? Hotel facilities ? A lively city nearby ? A 1 mile runway ? an IFR approach ?

[terryp]

I thought about a Channel crossing, though having not flown over the Channel before am a little cautious to with friends for the first time...was thinking trying to get on a club trip might be a sensible thing to do first.

I have been to Bournemouth, Newquay and Lands End before so ideally looking for somewhere different to these.

In terms of what Im looking for, well walking distance to a beach would be nice, but Im realistic also so dont mind a short drive to the beach, say within 15-20 mins of the airfield at most.

If there is also a nearby town / village for somewhere to stay, be it a hotel or B&B, and some local sightseeing, nice restaurants / pubs, that kind of thing.

Im not to fussed about the landing fees, obviously as long as there are not astronomical i.e. certainly nothing above the costs of landing and handling at Bournemouth. Will be flying a PA28 with 4 POB, VFR.

Thanks for the recommendations so far :)

[FleetFlyer]

I've just been to Roserrow golf club near Rock in Cornwall. Its a two mile walk into Rock itself with the Rock Inn doing great food with a fantastic view out over the estuary towards Padstow. A regular ferry service can take you to Padstow should you fancy it.

Unless you have a Cherokee 180 you may not be able to get out of the strip though as its 600m and a partially uphill in a westerly wind.

You could also try Farway Common in Devon. No landing fee, it looks flat and smooth and the owner keeps a 172 there so a PA28 should be ok. Its a 20 minute taxi from there to Sidmouth and the beach.

[CJ Driver]

Blackpool is good for a laugh, depending on the demographic of your companions.

You don't say where you are starting from; if your friends are not used to travelling in a PA28, you would be wise to choose a destination no more than about an hour from base.

[terryp]

Thanks FleetFlyer will take a look.

I will be flying a PA28-161 Warrior out of Sherburn in Elmet. My friends are regualr flying companions so they are well versed in the fun of flying in the PA28. :)

They had asked about North Wales and Norfolk though having taking a look into it not seen anything near a beach that seems to inspire so been looking at South coast, South East or South West coast and South Wales.

CJ Driver, Blackpool while 'interesting' and certainly has its 'fun points' we have all been there a few times, albeit by road not air.:}

[Mictheslik]

What about Caernarfon? Lovely part of the world, lots of accomodation about, train line up and down the coast and the airfield is practically on the beach :D

.mic

[toptobottom]

Caernarfon is good - lots to do and great scenery. Also Swansea in the south and Aberporth (West Wales - but caution the restricted area until October - strictly PPR) in between :ok:

[Cusco]

Just come back from a long weekend at Perranporth: No camping on airfield but Blue Hills campsite just over the fence: Owner of camp site came and picked us up: Sea fog kept us there an extra day but plenty of (quite hard) coastal path walks plus the delightful village of St Agnes half an hour over the clifftop path with welcoming pub with great food as a goal at the end of the path.

Perranporth itself not much to write home about though.

[rkgpilot]

What about good old Sarfend? Lovely pier, bag of chips, stick of rock, mini Blackpool. Even a decent-ish beach these days, since they shifted in half the Sahara a few years ago.

Train station on the airfield, 5 minutes into Southend. Lots of B&B, hotels etc.

Lovely jubbly. :ok:

On the other hand, if it's culture you are after, ........:rolleyes:

[mikehallam]

Clacton ?
Only a stroll to the wet, strip may be a bit short -if still open.

mike hallam

[CJ Driver]

Southend? I once went there en-route to Europe, and thought "that would be a nice spot to night stop and hang out for a while". It was 'orrible. :yuk: Sorry rkg but it really was charmless.

[rans6andrew]

Sandown or Bembridge on't Isle of Wight are close to the Sea (a mile or so). Sandown has a caravan site on the edge of the airfield (3 day minimum hire). We had a week there recently, coincident with the microlight fly-in. The weather could have been better........

Rans6....

[rkgpilot]

Oh yes CJ, I forgot to mention - I'd never spend the night there myself. I grew up not far away from Southend and seldom venture back........

Mind you, I've never been to Blackpool. Each to his own. :)

[maxred]

'Perranporth itself not much to write home about though.'

Except it has possibly one of the best beaches in the UK:cool::cool:

[xrayalpha]

Barra:

Land ON the beach!

[Cusco]

Not in a howling wind blowing thick sea fog in off the Atlantic...........

Perranporth was full of large women accompanied by large blokes in shell suits with screaming kids in buggies last monday.

[IO540]

Caernarfon and Perranporth do indeed make interesting "social studies" :) At Caernarfon especially, most girls over 14 seem to be pregnant.

But they are lovely places to fly to - especially Caernarfon, flying over Snowdonia.

Shoreham beach is nice (I windsurf there) but is mostly pebbles. Brighton has a lot of culture and is just down the road.

[BossEyed]

I'd recommend Bolt Head/Salcombe.

620m of grass, and a gentle walk into Salcombe itself, or - even closer - to Soar Cove if you walk the other direction.

http://www.higherrew.co.uk/wpimages/DSC00397.JPG

[AC-DC]

Crossing the water is not a big deal. Fly to Dover and then to Cap Grez Ness and follow the coast to LFAT. For a first trip you can't have better than this.

[terryp]

Thanks for all the replies, very much appreciated, lots of great suggestions!

I may think about Perranporth and Caernarfon for another trip, by the sounds of it I should ensure I'm looking for an 'interesting' stay.:}

One of my other considerations on location has to be available runway for take off and landing. As mentioned I will be flying a PA28-161 Warrior, current plan is 4 persons and fuel to tabs, which takes me slighly under MTOW.

Adding in just safety factor of 1.33 means that I will be needing a good 600m distance for take off (obviously thats me assuming a number of other factors in my intial rough planning i.e. wind, temperature etc). That pretty much rules out grass runways given adding a further factor of 1.2 would push my take off distance required in excess of 1000m.:\

So in summary I think Shoreham sounds a good option, hoping on the basis that of the day I can use the tarmac runway, conditions permitting.:ok:

[IO540]

I have never known the tarmac runway at Shoreham to not be available - except due to the pilot's own crosswind considerations.

[Cpt_Pugwash]

Terryp,
Shame about the requirement for tarmac. I was going to suggest that Dornoch (http://www.visitdornoch.com/pages/travel/airstrip.html) would be a good destination, although slightly further afield for you. At 775m of grass, it may not be suitable for you, although the Highland hospitality is hard to beat..

[thing]

Anyone been to Beccles? I think it's the most easterly airfield in the UK and near Great Yarmouth. Although having said that, being near Great Yarmouth is probably not Beccles' best selling point.

[vee-tail-1]

How about Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire. Haverfordwest (Withybush) Airport (http://www.airports-worldwide.com/uk/uk_haverfordwest.html) The airfield is 10 mins walk from town, but someone will give you a lift to the bus station. From there you can access the Pembrokeshire coast shuttle bus and take in some superb surfing beaches and scenery. Stay the night in any of the small coastal hotels or B&B. The slightly odd ball Druidstone hotel DRUIDSTONE (http://www.druidstone.co.uk/) overlooking a superb beach and having excellent food and musical events is my favorite.
There are 'Coasteering' and climbing courses available from www.fforestoutdoor.co.uk (http://www.fforestoutdoor.co.uk) . Milford Haven harbour and estuary have some great pubs and resturants, and there is a flying boat museum at Pembroke Dock. On spring high tides the sea reaches far inland to Cresswell Quay and a flotilla of small boats ride the incoming tide right up to the doors of the Cresswell Inn. There is just time for a pint or two before getting back into the boats and riding the outgoing tide back to Milford. On really high tides we locals wear welly boots while sitting in the pub bar, ignoring the sea water sloshing around our feet and amused by the reaction of the tourists. By the way it doesnt always rain in Wales!

[Tagron]

Pembrey is another Welsh airfield you might like to consider. From Friday afternoons through the weekend there is no military firing, so the Danger Areas are inactive and do not present a problem.

A walk to the Cefn Sidan beach through the Pembrey Country Park takes about 25 minutes from the airfield. The views across Carmarthen Bay are oustanding. There are no amenities near that part of the beach, so go prepared. There is a good cafe/restaurant at the airfield. Alternatively the town of Pembrey is about 3 miles away and contains hotels though not having stayed there myself I cannot vouch for them.

[billiboing]

Somebody was getting together a list of good strips with pubs, and this listing is all about good places with beaches. Just wondered if anybody had the knowledge to put together a good search engine where us mortals could chuck in minimum requirements- ie 700m and then get a list based on what we need- ie beach/ pub/ hotel.

(Still trying to find my perfect airfield- 700m, blonde 25 year old refuellers who also mop my brow!, free massage, no landing fees, beach at end of the airstrip....e tc etc...)

Might be looking a while yet!

[rkgpilot]

(Still trying to find my perfect airfield- 700m, blonde 25 year old refuellers who also mop my brow!, free massage, no landing fees, beach at end of the airstrip....e tc etc...)

Might be looking a while yet!


Try looking in the Carlsberg Guide to Airfields, not Pooleys.....:cool:

[luckybrazi]

Beccles is pretty good for the welcome, in fact when we couldn't find a B&B for love nor money they put us up in their caravan. There is a good pub within walking distance across the fields. Paid £10 landing and £10 parking

[gingernut]

They seem a friendly lot at Perranporth.

If you get chance to visit the beach, try and look beyond the tourists, hire a "foamy" from the surf school and spend an hour in the surf. :)



Not sure how GA friendly Newquay is, but you're a 5 minute bus ride from Watergate Bay. Again, great surf, and if you're feeling decadent go and visit Jamie Olivers place "fifteen."

One word of advice-get some local info about the weather, it seems to change within minutes.

[Foxy Loxy]

Not sure how GA friendly Newquay is

Very! GA are most welcome at NQY.

[thing]

Crikey, just remembered our 'local', Skegness. Two nice grass runways and it's actually just by the water leisure park at Ingoldmells.

[gingernut]

Very! GA are most welcome at NQY.

Apologies for my ignorance, now you come to mention it, there is a fair bit of GA traffic over the campsite:p