Shobdon EGBS October 2023

This weekend we went to Shobdon EGBS with the children for lunch and a walk. I remember the roads being quiet on a previous visit so we would also try ‘bikeling’ (a contraction of ‘bike’ and ‘cycling’).

We had planned to go last weekend, but cancelled due to weather, and went to sunny Shoreham instead .

The METARs (and looking out of the window) on the day showed radiation fog, which took longer than expected to clear. We delayed an hour, but in hindsight this was excessive, as it takes about 30 minutes to drive to the airport, remove the cover and chocks, and do the preflight.

This time we were taking the children’s bikes. I’d checked the previous weekend that one fitted, and it’s possible to get them through the main door going backwards horizontally over the seats, then sideways into the luggage compartment with the handlebars at an angle. It’s quite a fiddly job as they’re a funny shape and surprisingly heavy. Once stowed they were ok, but it did mean leaving the aircraft cover in the car rather than in the back of the plane.

The outbound flight was boring (in a good way). A straight line, no-one to talk to on the radio; a 30kt headwind meant I stayed low at 4,000ft, but conditions were hazy so not much to look at. The kids were quiet in the back watching Pingu on an ipad.

Shobdon was reasonably busy when we arrived, but I slotted in to a base join without any problems. Only a fraction of the original runway is maintained, with glider runway, parallel taxiway, and parking on the grass. I then had the reverse, to get the bikes carefully forwards through the cockpit and out through the door. The novelty had worn off by this time.

The airfield was originally ‘Pembridge landing ground’ in 1940, named after the village to the south. It gained a hard runway and was renamed Shobdon (after the village to the north) and used as an RAF gliding school from 1942 to 1945. The runway was almost 6,000ft, with two more grass runways around the same length. The current tarmac runway is slightly under half this length at 836m. Herefordshire Aeroclub managed to convince the Ministry of Defence to let them use the decommissioned oand overgrown runway in 1961, starting with an Auster Aerocrat, and has managed the airport since 1993.

The C office is at the western end of a long Nissen hut, which also includes a café in the middle (‘Meg’s’) and a lounge and toilets at the eastern end. I didn’t see what the food was like so can’t judge, but google shows mostly fry-ups. There is camping and static caravans round the back of the cavernous hangar for people who want to stay the night. The lady who took the £15 landing fee was chatty and helpful, and a couple of sightseers were very impressed we’d flown in with bicycles.

We set off up the hill with the children on their bikes. It was actually hard work, alternately pushing on a steep bit, then running after them on the flatter sections. Once in the village there was a play area next to the shop, and we stopped for a rest. It must have been potato harvest because there were frequent fully laden tractor trailers waving at the children. We continued through Shobdon on the pavement past a small village green, with a war memorial and two historic cider presses.

Next stop was the Bateman Arms. It was closed last time I visited in Covid, and I remember thinking it was a shame because it’s a good-looking building and the location is ideal. It reopened this year under new management, with separate bar and restaurant, and a half-dozen hotel rooms. It’s an old building and tastefully renovated, so looks nice. It’s listed so I think they’re stuck with the ancient windows. The waitress apologised in advance that service was slow (about 40 minutes); no idea why, as they only had 5 or 6 tables eating. The children played outside so it wasn’t an issue. Upmarket pub food which could have benefitted from better presentation, but was actually very tasty. We’ll definitely come again.

After lunch we continued through the gate on the other side of the road. It was uphill again, but a private road with zero traffic so we could the leave the two cyclists to go where they wanted. This was nice, with some ancient oaks and a couple of lakes.

At the very top, framed by an avenue, is the Shobdon Arches, an eye-catcher or folly built exclusively for visual effect. It’s constructed from the north and south doors (including tympana) and chancel arch of a demolished 12th century Romanesque Norman church. It includes work from the Herefordshire School, “unknown but exceedingly individual and talented sculptors” active 1120-1170. No longer protected from the elements for the last 250 years, it is now badly eroded and a real shame.

St John’s church was the replacement, consecrated around 1756, and commissioned by the wealthy Bateman family who owned the village and surrounding area. Ogees on the doors and windows hint at the interior, the most Rococo in Britain, where the white and pastel colours are shocking if you’re expecting the Gothic gloom of a normal parish church. Hopefully @Antonio will be interested.

On the way back down, we stopped at the village shop for well-deserved ice creams. We spotted a couple of walkers coming up the side of a field, so we decided to try a cross-country route back to the airfield. This was a good idea as it was safer than the road: no cars, slower cycling downhill on grass, and more forgiving to hard landings. It’s apple country and we went through some pleasant orchards; the apple smell was everywhere. We’ll explore the footpaths a bit more next time.

We saw signs for the Shobdon Food and Flying Festival, but I think this may be permanently cancelled post covid.

During the day I had a genius idea: why not remove the front wheel from the bicycles? A couple of minutes with an adjustable spanner, turn the handlebars in line with the frame, and voilà, both bikes go through the luggage door and sit flat on the floor. Marginally quicker, but much easier than going through the cockpit. I was very happy

On departure we had maybe a 10 minute delay for takeoff due to intense glider activity, with several landing on the grass and the Kitfox tow plane trying for a gap, interspersed with powered aircraft landing and taking off on the hard runway. The AFISO handled it all effortlessly.

It’s a normal UK airfield in the middle of nowhere, but with a good hotel-restaurant and a couple of small tourist attractions in walking distance. Maybe not for everyone, but a fun day out for us, and excellent for bikeling 🚲