Visiting The Old Sod

A longer trip in the RV…I’ve been trying to get over to Northern Ireland to see my old school friend Andrew. First the pandemic got in the way, then the weather failed to cooperate, but towards the end of June there was a spell of good weather but still with potentially dodgy bits. We decided to give it a go and see. Notifications were sent to Special Branch 24 hours in advance for both the outbound and return legs, online “booking in” with the Ulster Flying Club at Newtownards airfield and we were ready to go.

The weather at Perth was quite nice for departure…

Although the Southern Uplands looked bad, the coastal route seemed workable, and the forecast was for a slow steady improvement over the course of the day.

The price of fuel has gone up due to “The Circumstances” and the bill for full tanks was a bit of a shock. As it was, we eventually got back to Perth with half tanks, but…£280!

Brenda was following on Flightradar24:

The weather was great for the first bit…

The cloud started to thicken a little as we passed Loch Lomond:

By the time we were tracking down the coast south of Prestwick the cloud inland was too low to go more than about a mile in from the shore, but it was still workable along the coast. Here you can see the remains of my in flight snack reflected in the windscreen as we pass the old disused airfield at Turnberry, now covered by the golf course. Just visible to the right of the wood is the hotel now known as “Trump Turnberry”…

Ballantrae and the River Stinchar. The lighter skies in front are promising improvements ahead:

By the time we passed Loch Ryan the cloud had risen to a level suitable for a crossing, although I couldn’t spot the traffic just in front but 18,800 feet above…

Within no time we were “coasting in” at Donaghadee and landing at Newtownards, where I parked next to another visitor. This blue Cirrus is also based at Perth:

Andrew was waiting. We’ve known each other for 50 years! Now I’m really feeling old…

We eschewed the airfield cafe and jumped into the gentleman’s open topped touring carriage for the ten minute trip to Greyabbey, just down the coast on the Strangford Lough side of the Ards peninsula:

Andrew’s daughter Tara had recommended this little place. “Lekker” is Dutch for tasty or yummy…

…and it is well-named. In the spirit of “pictures or it didn’t happen” here’s my breakfast in a bun. Lekker in Greyabbey, highly recommended.

All too soon it was time to get back to the airfield to meet my previously notified arrival time at Perth. Don’t want to upset the Border Force guys if they do turn up. On our landing at Rochester after the flight from Belgium in 2018 they didn’t appear, although the refuelling team said they had been doing spot checks the previous day.

Airborne and coasting out by the Copeland Islands, the cloudbase was quite high now, with some remnants of low level mist over the water:

Mid-point in the North Channel, passing the Stena Line freight only service from Heysham to Belfast:

Routing up the Clyde, passing Gare Loch with Faslane in the distance:

And back to Perth in glorious warm sunshine. I left the orange peel in the aircraft, pot-pourri for the cockpit…

A literal flying visit to see a friend, 1h15m of flying each way and lunch in a different country. General aviation is great. Fast and flexible, go where you need to go. But be prepared to cancel if the weather doesn’t play ball.

Border Force didn’t turn up…