Devil's Dyke, England. Photo: public domain28 July 2009
The Guardian marked National Parks Week by doing a roundup of activities. Alongside outdoor swimming, walking, climbing and canoeing, my contribution was flying on the South Downs...
With nine sites either in or close to the new national park, the South Downs is one of the most popular places in the country to go paragliding. Devil's Dyke, just behind Brighton, boasts a road to the top, decent pub grub, and even a bus service in summer time, making it the perfect place to get your first taste of this exhilarating sport by taking a tandem flight with a licensed instructor. Given a gentle breeze, you will soon be floating above the hills, skimming your feet across the grassy slopes, and admiring the views for a good half hour or so. Although adventurous, tandem flights need no training - 91-year-old Reg Rose-Innes became Britain's oldest paraglider passenger here in 2006.
If you want to take things further, several schools offer courses, which will see you go solo in a day or two, and gain your first stage license within a week. Sussex school of paragliding, Airworks and Air Adventure are good places to start, with tandem flights from £125 and five day courses at around £500. Once hooked, you need to join the Southern hang and paragliding club to gain access to all the sites. Good pilots in the Southern Club regularly use thermals to fly 100 km or more from here. On a nice Sunday in summer sites can get crowded, but don't let that put you off: once up, you're free as a bird.
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