Paragliding In London

Paragliding in London may seem like wishful thinking however it is possible when you consider London to be anywhere within the M25.  And if you expand this further to places that are within easy driving distance then you will find many more sites for paragliding near London within a couple of hours.

With the population of London now coming in around 9 million people we estimate the city to be home to around 900 qualified paragliding pilots and many more people who would like to learn the sport.  When you first move to the city you probably asked yourselves ‘where can I paraglide in London?’ and ‘where can I learn to paragliding in London?’.  Or maybe ‘is it even possible here?’.    Well yes is the answer and to help you find the best sites for paragliding in and near London we have built this guide.  So read on to find the best paragliding schools and paragliding clubs in the area.

There is only really one place where you can learn to paraglide within greater London due to the nature of it being a built up city.  For this you will still need to travel to the outskirts where there is more open space with hills and fields for taking off and landing, and where there are no flight restrictions.

Green Dragons Airsports are the only Paragliding school in London, when you consider this to be within the M25.  They have been teaching paragliding in London for over 40 years and are run by Andy Shaw who is one of the most experienced flying instructors in the UK.

Green Dragons run BHPA paragliding qualifications, tandem flight experiences and paragliding taster days all from their base in Woldingham which is accessible from all London locations.

Check out the full guide to this club here.

As the opportunities to fly actually within London are limited then you may be best looking outside for somewhere that is within an acceptable travel distance from the capital.  This increases the number of options you have to find somewhere that you can learn to paraglide whilst living in London and there are some fantastic options.

Cloud base paragliding are one of the best schools for paragliding near London.  It has to be said that is relatively speaking as their base is in the North Wessex Downs AONB which is about 1.5 hours drive from Paddington in London.  But if you want to paraglide you do need to get out a bit!

This paragliding school near London run Elementary Pilot and Club Pilot courses as well as Tandem Paragliding Experiences.  If you’re looking to buy equipment as well then they can help.

Find out more in the full guide.

Airworks Paragliding are another school that teach paragliding near London.  They are based in the South Downs near the village of Laughton which is about 1 hr 45 mins drive from Brixton in South London.  Whilst this might seem quite a long drive it is still one of the closest places to paraglide near London and seeing as you’ll be spending all day on the hills it’s worth the drive.

They teach all the BHPA pilot courses and also offer a paragliding taster day to introduce you to the sport.

Check out their guide with full details here.

Paragliding clubs in London are few and far between so when living in the city your best bet is to instead look for some paragliding clubs near London.  Once you broaden your view and accept that you are going to need to travel to get to them there are a number of friendly clubs you can join whilst living in London.

Here is our list of BHPA registered paragliding clubs in and around London.

Grupa 303

A polish paragliding club in the UK that is based in London.  This is from what we can see the only paragliding club in London.  They were founded in 2007 with the goal of flying together and having fun.  Their website can be read in English and Polish for more details.

Southern Hang Gliding Club

This club support both hand gliding and paragliding and is based about 1 – 1.5 hours from London down near Brighton.  They have been running since 1974 embraced paragliding when it was developed.  They are a club for members with everything that entails as well as offering advice for visiting pilots. Again more information can be found on their website.

The Dunstable Hang-Gliding And Paragliding Club

This a welcoming paragliding club near London who fly in the Chiltern hills around the Luton area ,which is less than an hour from central London.  They are purely a club and do not teach but can give recommendations of local schools if needed.  They also have an excellent website with a huge amount of information on paragliding in general as well as local updates.

Dover And Folkestone Hang Gliding Club

A small paragliding club based in Folkestone on the south east coast they are about a 1.5 hour drive from London.  When this is a bit of a long way to travel they are a great club if you enjoy coastal flying.

Sky Surfing Club

Another paragliding club that we just about include in our list of paragliding clubs near London as it is around an hour and a half from London.  That said it is worth the travel with some beautiful fly sites and as mentioned when your in London and want to paraglide then you need to be prepared to drive a little way.

The club is warm and welcoming with a long history dating back to when it was started in the 1970s and included paragliding in the 1980s.

If you’re looking for a Tandem Paragliding Experience whilst in London you are in luck as there are quite a few more options relatively close to the city.  In addition to training courses some of the paragliding schools also offer Tandem paragliding but on top of this there are a few places that specifically run the Tandem flights.

These are the options

PGBase

Based in the South Downs to the south of London, tandem flights of 15-20 mins from £179

Skylark Paragliding

Another operation based in the South Downs close to London and Brighton offering Tandem Paragliding flights from £120 (for at least 20 mins) up to £245 for over an hour (plus more).

Mile High Paragliding

Also running from the South Downs, Devil’s Dyke to be specific, they exclusively offer Tandem Paragliding experiences in a location easily accessible from London.  Flights from £249 (may be a longer flight than others offer)

Cloudbase Paragliding

As described in the paragliding schools section above, Tandem flights in the North Wessex Downs from £145 – £165.

Interested in other places that you can Paraglide in the UK?  Check out our guide with an interactive map showing all the paragliding locations across the UK with links to guides for each place.  And if you have any questions feel free to send us a message.