Minster
[widgetkit id="38" name="Minster items"]
Direction: NNE - NE (025° - 045°)
Map ref: OS TQ 958 736
Coordinates: N 51° 25’ 35”; E 0° 48’ 56”
What3Words: vibes.eradicate.twit
Nearest Post Code: ME12 2HG. Car Park in Seathorpe Avenue ME12 2LT.
Nearest phone: Turn right to the end of Queens' Road. Turn left to the end of Union Street, & then right into Minster Road. The phone box is 100 yards further on the left.
Pilot rating: Any, but the shallow slope can be challenging for low airtime pilots.
Site description: 100ft grassy slopes and 150ft earth cliffs between Minster and Warden Point
Take Off Altitude: 30 m (100 ft)
TTB: 20 m (70 ft)
Access: On the road through Minster, turn left at the Waterloo pub, signed to the Abbey. Follow the road, past a bend to the left when it becomes Wards Hill Road. 250 metres after the bend turn right down Seathorpe Avenue. There is a free car park at the end on the left. A 400 metre footpath leads to take off.
Parking: In the car park at the end of Seathorpe Avenue. DO NOT park at the end of Imperial Avenue.
Take Off: See Map. Choose rigging area carefully, as space is limited. Watch out for dog poo!
Flying the site: Ridge run possible all the way to Warden Point where the cliffs die away. Needs a stiff breeze to work but very good height gains have been made at this site, despite its small size.
Landing: At take off for slower (single surface) hang gliders or PGs. Also to the left of take-off, or to the right if the field is not in crop. Beware turbulence from the small cliff just to the right of take-off. Also at the bottom, avoid the sea wall, or on the upper part of the beach. The lower part is muddy and is not recommended
Restrictions: Do not fly to the west of the fenced-off enclosure just to the left of take-off (see map). Do NOT overfly the houses.
Hazards: This is a popular site for modellers, and for people exercising dogs (so watch out for hazards on the ground and in the air). Please be courteous and accommodating to all members of the public, upon whose goodwill the use of this site depends. Check the situation with the tide before you fly down the cliff run, because there are no bottom landing areas at high tide for most of the run. Recent slippage of the cliff has resulted in an ever-changing profile. Rotor may exist where previously there was none! A careful site assessment before flying is advised. In stronger winds the shallow gulley between take off and the earth cliffs can cause a venturi, with risk of being blown back. Bottom landing in the area below the cliff should be considered extremely hazardous. When wet it can be waist deep in mud and when dry it produces deep cracks and broken ankles! And beware of dog poo at take off!
Other remarks: Will often be flyable when Bo Peep is blown out.