PEOPLE in Malvern who craned their necks skyward may have seen more than 60 hang-gliders taking part in a contest to fly away home.
The gathering was actually the first round of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association’s British Open Series, taking to the skies.
Pilots from across the UK caught an easterly wind blowing over the Malvern Hills on Saturday and – finding a gap in the wet weather – managed to navigate from their launch point near The Kettle Sings cafe to Llandovery, south Wales, via Kingstone in Herefordshire in the main class.
In the club class, gliders flew as far as Kingstone.
Competition spokesman Richard Sheppard said: “Long-time Malvern Hang Gliding Club member Dave Corbett, of Evesham, won the club class on Saturday by landing short of the goal by a few hundred feet.”
On Sunday, pilots battled to find enough wind to get off the ground. Six people reached the main class target of Brecon, Wales. For the club class, the course finish point was set at Weobley, Herefordshire.
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