A paraglider over the house

This afternoon I sat at our dining room table overlooking the garden whilst enjoying a jigsaw. It was the first time in ages that I’d had a go at one, and with the sunshine the light on the puzzle was very good. I was listening to music at the same time, when I suddenly heard an increasingly loud 'lawn mower' outside, as I had the sliding patio doors open to enjoy the warmer weather.

As it got louder I realised that the lawn mower was in the air and then it twigged that it was likely to be a paraglider. I stood up and stepped through the door and saw the paraglider coming towards our house. I quickly went inside to pick up my camera which was close by and managed to catch the flight just before it passed over the house. I then tried to follow it on the far side of the house, but for some reason the pilot started to circle over us and it re-appeared above me so that I could get this shot as it banked. I think the pilot realised he had to circle and climb to get up and over the hill on the side of which we live.

I’m always pleased to see such intrepid equipment and the people who like that sort of adventure. I had a friend who always loved getting into the next adventurous hobby, but as far as I know he never tried a motorised paraglider, preferring to climb to the top of hills and jump off! We have quite a few people who do that locally, as well as traditional fliers who fly from two local airfields.