CHRISTCHURCH AND DISTRICT MODEL FLYING CLUB

55 YEARS OF MODEL FLYING
BMFA  AFFILIATION NUMBER 2581

BULBARROW HILL SLOPE SITE - Update and photos by David Bicker and Colin Murray

Bulbarrow Hill is a large, wide south-west facing 460ft high bowl. It has excellent lift once you have launched over the low scrub that lines the edge of the upper field where the track crosses it. There's masses of room for launching & landing, but with the majority of it in lift. It's currently grassed with no obstructions on the large field at the top of the bowl. The reason that it fell out of use was that there is limited parking there. There's room for 3 cars near the stile at the west end  but that is often taken up by walkers & dog walkers. About 100m up the road heading eastwards there is a small triangle of land that is at the intersection of 2 minor roads. There's room to park 4 - 6 cars there but it will require a walk to the stile & then to the chosen launching point in the field.

You can find out all about it on the Ordnace Survey “Get Outside” page here

Update and new photos by David Bicker 27 August 2022: “Bulbarrow is currently in perfect condition with low  cropped grass & no new obstructions as can be sent in the photos.   Details on its location & where to park are posted on the club's  website. Ideal for SW wind direction.

Update with what 3 words by David Bicker 2 March 2024: Bulbarrow Hill SW slope, parking for 3 cars is at:  "snippets.dogs.condiment" or some parking at the road junction, with a  bit of a walk: "brisk.scooped.cargo"

Update 19 June 2024 by David Bicker: Bulbarrow Hill is currently free of cattle and the grass is short. The  access gate can now be easily opened by the usual gate catch. (It was  wired up with barbed wire for a while). On the day that I flew there,  parking was available at both described locations.

Colin Murray’s photo, looking north back over the bowl shows the 3-car parking space at the west end of the bowl, left of top centre, white car parked there.

and finally, a view SSW over the east side of Rawlsbury Camp