Local club flying high with Lottery cash

Thursday 17 August 2000

The Lanarkshire & Lothian Soaring Club (hang gliding & paragliding) will this weekend celebrate the purchase of their own flying site, with the help of sportscotland Lottery Fund.

An award of £18,624 from sportscotland assisted the purchase of two take-off sites for hang gliding and paragliding on Tinto Hill, near Biggar, and the sites will be officially opened on Saturday when the 70 member Club has its annual flying competition.

Hang gliding in Scotland started at Tinto Hill over 20 years ago and Lanarkshire and Lothian Soaring Club hope that this purchase will secure their long term future in the area.

Phil Reoch, Treasurer of Lanarkshire and Lothian Soaring Club, said:  “The club had the opportunity to bid for the two small areas of land at the West end of Tinto.  Club members raised some money themselves but we owe much to the sportscotland Lottery Fund, Reggie Spooner (an aviator who operates a trust to further the sport), and glider pilots from across Britain.  Without their financial support the club could not have succeeded in the purchase.”

Ian Robson, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said:  “sportscotland is delighted to have been able to support this project which will provide a much needed venue for the activities of Lanarkshire and Lothian Soaring Club.

“To date, sportscotland has invested over £100m of Lottery Funds in making it easier for people to take part in sport.”

For those who dream of soaring like a bird, hang gliding and paragliding are the cheapest and simplest ways to get into the air. After approximately 10 days training with a school registered and approved by the BHPA (the sport’s governing body), pilots can be ready to fly unsupervised. Both aircraft are foot launched and highly manoeuvrable to allow the pilots to make the most of the natural rising currents of air which are their only source of lift. No noise or pollution is involved – these are truly environmentally friendly sports, entirely powered by the sun and the wind.

Expert pilots who know how to exploit these natural phenomena can travel incredible distances. The distance record for a hang gliding flight from within Scotland was broken at Tinto Hill in 1996, ending south of the border.

Another feature of hang gliding and paragliding which is not widely known is that they are two of the few sports in which Britain have achieved great success. At one point Britain held all the individual and team hang gliding titles at European and World level. Britain has also held the World and European paragliding individual titles.

• The official opening of Lanarkshire and Lothian Soaring Club’s new take-off sites will take place on Saturday 19 August at 1200 hours (Meet at Wiston Village Hall from 1000 hours onwards), at the sites at Tinto Hill, near Biggar.