About this flying site
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Beachy Head paragliding site and weather forecast
South Downs, Sussex. Live seven-day flying weather, launch directions and site information for Beachy Head.
Altitude163 m
Launch directionsSE, S
Coordinates50.7391, 0.2534
AreaSouth Downs, Sussex
Managing club: Southern Hang Gliding Club · Access: membership
Flying profile
Best Workable Not recorded
Beachy Head is a hill site in South Downs, Sussex with a recorded launch elevation of 163 m. It works best in south-easterly and southerly winds, and can also work in easterly winds. Pilots fly it for ridge soaring and thermal, using foot launch.
- Terrain
- hill
- Lift
- ridge soaring and thermal
- Launch
- foot launch
- Cross-country
- Not recorded
When the wind is wrong for Beachy Head
The nearest site we have rated for each wind direction Beachy Head doesn't cover.
Firlenortherly or north-westerly wind, 16 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 165 m · N, NW launchBo-Peepnorth-easterly wind, 13 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 183 m · NE launchMount Caburnsouth-westerly wind, 20 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 137 m · S, SW launchDevil's Dykewesterly wind, 37 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 193 m · N, NW launch
Site briefing highlights
Short extracts from Southern Hang Gliding Club and ParaglidingEarth. Read the full guide before you fly.
Take-off
Take-off — In a SE wind (to soar the bowl), hang gliders take off from the pad, the high point at the south end of the rigging area; paragliders from the pad or the grassy slope to either side.
Landing
Top landing — do not land on the main top landing in a southerly: rotor off the cliffs can be severe and dangerous.
Access and parking
Ample parking in the public car park. From Eastbourne, take the B2103 coast road and follow the signs to Beachy Head. From the A259 to the west, take the B2103, or turn off earlier at East Dean for Birling Gap and carry on to Beachy Head.
Local weather notes
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Flight rules
MEMBERS-ONLY SITE. Register with the Southern Hang Gliding (and Paragliding) Club (SHGC) for DAY or ANNUAL membership before flying. Permission to fly any SHGC site is sensitive, and can be easily lost.
Hazards and cautions
- There is little bottom landing below the cliffs — only a narrow strip of beach with very large, slippery rocks, exposed only at low tide.
- Aeromodellers — our relationship with local modellers is friendly; in south-east winds, visiting modellers should be encouraged to use the Whitbread Hollow bowl to keep separation, and kite fliers the dedicated kite flying / buggying area on the other side of Whitbread Hollow.
- Airflow: Wind off the sea is generally smooth, but when the lapse rate is poor or the unstable layer very shallow, serious turbulence can be generated — be especially vigilant in summer when air temperatures are high relative to the sea. In poor lapse-rate conditions the air can be reluctant to rise up the 500 ft south cliffs; even with a 20+ mph southerly there is sometimes insufficient lift to soar, and if the wind is east of south you may find it impossible to reach the bottom-landing field. Before taking off, check whether birds are soaring — if they are not, neither will you. Adverse temperature-gradient conditions can cause severe turbulence from velocity differences between the wind above and below a separating inversion layer, which often forms at or around take-off height; check the wind is constant in speed and direction at take-off and further down the slope. Beware rotor immediately behind the cliffs and wind gradient behind the bushes, rotor in front of the cliff face below the clifftop, and flying behind large out-croppings or spurs on the cliff face when the wind is off the cliff. Do not fly beyond gliding reach of a safe landing.
- Exact launch
- Launch GPS
- 50.73994, 0.25314
- Members also see the gate / padlock code (where a site has one), the Safety Officer’s contact, and the downloadable guide (PDF).
Check current site guidance
Paragliding sites near Beachy Head
High and Over10 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 76 m · E, SE launchBo-Peep13 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 183 m · NE launchNewhaven Cliffs15 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 55 m · S launchFirle16 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 165 m · N, NW launchMount Caburn20 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 137 m · S, SW launchDitchling Beacon31 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 222 m · N launch
Forecasts are planning aids, not safety clearance. Check current observations, official airspace and NOTAM information, local rules and your own experience before every flight.
More paragliding sites in the UK · Read the paragliding weather guide