Any of you who have been out with us over the last few years will know of our long struggle to build our new home at the bottom of the big spine to the East of Piedrahita.   3 years ago the first constructor ran off with a large portion of our funds and went into insolvency.  Last year, another company (Marinenclaves s.l) took our money, and although we recieved the building materials, they contracted a bunch of cowboys with apparently little idea of how to build and no idea how to read plans.  Last July we were left with the external walls up (though out of square and incorrectly sealed) with the rest of the material strewn across the field.  Marinenclaves decided not to honour their contract  (having already taken the money) so it was up to us to finish things alone.  We had some expert help from Art, who came across from the US company to frame the roof, and from then it has been Juan Carlos, a local builder and his assistant Dani and myself working to finish things off from last October untill now.

Thing have gone quite slowly although I have worked about 10 hours daily every day since then.  Just when I was starting to despair, Brian Hindle from the Malverns club generously offered to come across and help for 3 weeks in March.  I have no real experience in building apart from basic DIY and carpentry skills from making chicken houses and bee hives.  Brian has a lifetime of building experience and his help in the more complex work such as building the staircase was essential.  He sorted me out regarding lots of finshing details and by the time he left us the upper floor was finally in a state close to being habitable.  Thanks so much Brian, and likewise to Pat for letting us have him for those 3 weeks.

After Brian went back, Peter, our driver came out from Madrid and has been helping out for most of the time since.  At Easter Paul, our webmaster, also lent a hand.   Due to the Volcanic ash disruption, Paul ended up helping us for a bit longer than he expected.

We vacated our old house in Piedrahita when our first group of guests arrived at Easter.  Although we are still very much living in a building site, bit by bit we have been getting those essentials…electricity, water, WC.  At the start of the Walkers week we finally got the hot water going.

So far this spring the flying has looked really good…….though with so much building to do I have done little other than watch the skies and do the odd commercial tandem.   I was looking forward to getting back into the sky next week with our first group for May.  However, the weather has messed things up and we have re-scheduled those pilots for other weeks so I have another other weeks or so to dedicate to the build and the flying will have to wait.

April and the begining of May have given us some excellent flying weather, but cooinciding with our first group of May a very nasty run of weather has been announced for next week.   As Alan, Jerry and Tony have been able to move their dates, we look forward to seeing them later in the year.  The spring months provide us with some excellent days/weeks for XC flying, but like the rest of Europe, it is a time when passing frontal systems can mess up a good part of the week.  Normally as we go into June the Azores high tends to fend of most flying weather problems for us here in Central Spain.

A group of long distance walkers from the Doncaster-York area visited us last week and for the event we enjoyed the warmest and nicest weather we have had this year so far. Not unlike July conditions, with cumulus everywhere and very high cloud bases, it was slightly too hot for walking.

It has been a remarkable experience for us. 15 experienced walkers, all incredibly fit for their ages (which ranged from 40 to 76) invaded our lives for a week. Their leader, Terry Griffiths, organises holidays abroad as a hobby, and he chose us to provide him with the logistics for their first visit to the Gredos area, for which we feel very honoured. It turned out to be a fantastic group: “a drinking group with a walking problem” in their own words. They were all very cheerful and friendly and really good fun, which provided us with an unforgettable week full of anecdotes.

In total they walked a staggering 97 miles in 6 days. Each day I would propose a route and Terry would adapt it to suit the demands and skills of his group.

The first day, a bit stormy, we visited Salamanca, with a guided walk around the battle of Salamanca site early in the morning followed by a long stroll around the city visiting the most renowned monuments and a very civilised lunch in a restaurant.

On day 2, they walked up to Peña Negra and then along the hill on the top plateau, following the “Balcón the Gredos” route, which provides the best views of the main Gredos massiff as well as the Barco and Béjar ranges. 22Km and 1000m ascent, a bit too short for their liking.

On day 3, they walked one of the classic gorges of the Gredos peaks, the “Garganta de Bohoyo”. It was the original route used by the locals to go into the heart of the mountains. An out and return, it was chosen on the account of being the most likely one to have snow only towards the end of the track. However, it wasn´t snow they found but a raging stream across the track cutting the advance. A very wet winter has left these mountains with a deep layer of snow, which is now beginning to thaw, making the tracks a bit treacherous as the water comes down in torrents anywhere it pleases. In fact after the 4^th day the holiday was renamed X-tream walking.

Day 4 was Garry´s birthday, and there was a general request for a route in the Jerte Valley (where the cherry trees were in blossom) with a pub at lunch time to celebrate, so they walked 27Km from Umbrias to Cabezuela del Valle across the Tornavacas pass and mostly downhill. They found a dog at the beginning of the route who decided they were an interesting bunch and followed them all the way. It had to be driven home on our way back 8 hours later.

On day 5 we stayed in the Piedrahita valley, and walked a 30Km round trip in the Sierra de Villafranca. They went up to the big round corral at the end of the ridge and back along the foothills from Villafranca village. The classic out and return Corral´s run but on foot rather than flying.

Day 6 was an eventful day. I had planned a linear walk along the GR10 in the Tormes valley, 26Km visiting spots as emblematic as the Pozo de las paredes (the swimming hole), Puente del Duque and Las Chorreras, and finishing in the Gredos Parador, the hotel which used to be the King’s hunting lodge. Meanwhile two other members of the party decided to go for a more challenging walk into the mountains. They got into trouble when they found a fast stream crossing their path, and they were delayed more than 2 hours while the rest of the team was waiting for them. To that we added a bit of a mess with the retrieve vehicles, misplaced mobile phones, tandem flights that didn’t happen and Terry being abandoned on top of Peña Negra on his birthday. All was forgotten later on in front of a big paella with a fiery “queimada” to celebrate the end of the week and Terry´s 69^th birthday.

I would like to thank everybody for all the support, patience and smiley faces. I would love to see you all again sometime. I had a fantastic time, but I have a confession to make: you really tired me out!

See the gallery for pictures of the flying over the Easter Holiday.

We have started our season off well with an excellent run of weather.  Since last Thursday we have been flying with our guests and have managed plenty of flying so far.  Highlights have beenb a flight to Barco on Sunday by Paul, Sarah and Pete.  On tuesday Pete and myself made the first crossing of the pass.  Avila was in the bag with a good cloud street from Muñogalindo onwards, unfortunately Pete landed at the foot of this during a phase when Cirrus shadowed up the valley.  Today a light easterly and another treck towards Barco, though most falling down at the half way stage.

The tops of the high mountains are snow capped at the moment, and with the crystal clear visibility makes for very scenic flying.

After much work, Paul Russell our Web Guru has opened the registration website for this years Pre-World Championships ( www.piedrahita2011.com ).  Over the last 3 days over 100 pilots have registered.

Our booking calendar is also beginning to fill up.  Just like everywhere else it has been a hard winter.  This is great news for the spring and summer flying season, since hard winters tend to result in good reliable flying from April onwards.   The almost flyable winter of 2007/8 resulted in a poor early season for 2008, but last winter being very cold and wet gave and great season over 2009. This winter has been apalling so far, with many days staying below zero ºC and with plenty of rain and snow.  I should know since I have been toiling on our new house  7 days a week since October, trying, but not succeding yet, to get it weather tight.

I did manage a few tandems last Sunday, my first flights of 2010,  which it seems cooincided with one of the first flyable days in the UK as well.

If you belong to a Long Distance Walking Association and you are interested in more demanding routes, we can also organise tailor-made weeks which include walks between 20 and 30 Km each day and between 1000m-1500m ascent, to suit your requirements.

We provide:

• Accommodation in rural houses.
• Breakfast
• Information about the area and the possible routes
• GPS tracks and coordinates.
• Topographic maps and other published maps and brochures.
• Collection from/to Madrid airport.
• Transport to the beginning and the end of the routes.
• Two evening meals.

You provide:

• Your own guides
• Flights to Madrid
• Insurance

Price: 350€/week. Groups up to 20 walkers

Please contact us for more information

Our booking calendar for 2010 is now open.  Our price remains the same as the last 7 years (450€).  There are 2 competition events that we are running and for those weeks we do not offer our normal service but are still offering accomodation (and retrieve in the XC Open) for competitors.

Last year was an excellent year for us with a very high number of flyable days throughout the season.  We were fully booked for the majority of weeks and many of the high season weeks from mid June to mid September were booked up very early in the year.  So, if you are booking as a largish group, then try to book early to ensure there is space for the week you prefer.

The bad weather has finally arrived in Piedrhaita.  We now have a dusting of snow on the top of the mountain.  October remained remarkably flyable and warm and I have been reasonably busy doing tandem flights up untill last weekend.

I am off to La Palma at the beginning of December for a week and am looking forward to a bit of flying in warm weather once again.  At the moment there are 8 of us going out, but there is room for quite a few more if anyone is interested.

This last week we have just had Rob Couper from Australia with us.  On this the very last week I did much of the driving so that Peter, our driver for the year could get some flying.

We had some good flying for most of the week, and Peter (Pedro) managed a few PBs which he thouroughly deserved after all the retrieve Kms he has put in over the year for our guests and myself.

Rob has been with us for 3 weeks, and I think there were only 2 days in that whole period when he did not get to fly.  This September has been the best I can remember for reliability and good XC conditions.  Even now, going into October the thermal climbs we are getting are excellent.

Puri is taking Pete back to his home in Madrid and Rob to the airport this morning.  A quiet 6 or 7 months ahead now with no clients untill spring.  Thanks to you all who made it out to Piedrahita this year.  See you again next year I hope.

This last week finished up with 7 days out of 7 flyable and pretty much the end of our season with clients here in Piedrahita.  Today, Sunday, we are moving back to our old house from the tent.  Our new home never did get finished and it is getting a bit cold at night now to be under canvass, so after nearly 5 months under canvass we will have a solid roof to sleep under tonight. Flyingwise, the 2009 season has been a bit of an epic.  In Febuary we were awarded the World Championships for 2011, we ran 3 successfull CAT 2 events during July and September, and most weeks came up with the goods for good XCs for our clients. It is along winter ahead, and there are still reasonable conditions through till the end of October here, yet the reliablility starts to drop of quickly now. We shall be running some trips to La Palma over the winter and perhaps a trip to Andalucia in March if there is demand. Since we have already confirmed our competition dates for next year (Pre Worlds and XC Open) we will soon have our Booking calendar open for 2010. For those of you who came out this year a big thank you to you all.  We hope to see you all again next year.