The old song urges everyone to ‘go fly a kite’ and it can be the perfect pastime on a crisp and breezy winter’s day. The beach is one of the best locations for kite flying, especially during the winter months when you can often find metres of empty shingle or sand with no one else around to get in the way of the fun.
The shore-side generally doesn’t have the typical threats to kite flyers, such as trees and pylons, and the open water will often lead to undisturbed, steady breezes that create ideal conditions for flying. Of course, this is a pastime that’s governed by Mother Nature, so make sure you check out the weather forecasts and tides.
The best conditions are when the wind is blowing between 4 and 20 miles an hour. Any less than this and you will probably have trouble getting your kite off the ground. To give you an idea of this sort of wind strength, it should be somewhere between a breeze that causes leaves on the trees to rustle and one that causes small trees to sway. You should never try to fly a kite in winds stronger than 25mph as this can be dangerous and is more than likely to break your kite.
If you’re a flying novice, try heading to the beach with a simple single-line kite and take the kids for some family fun. A medium-sized delta kite is the ideal choice as it will fly in conditions that would make it impossible for other models.
Kite flying is often over-looked in these technological days, but it’s something simple that the whole family can enjoy together, and with Christmas around the corner, get out there and grab one for you and the kids, they don’t cost a fortune and there’s something to cater for everyone’s tastes.
Happy Flying!
