Clacton Airfield (EGSQ)

Flew into Clacton from Blackpool on 14 October and out again on 16 October via Earls Colne to take the greyhounds for a short holiday. The grass strip itself is very well maintained although it has a public footpath across the middle which has right of way. The telephone briefing with the PPR was very thorough including the need for wide circuits to avoid built up areas. With no overhead joins allowed, (my preferred arrival for a grass airfield not visited before), I had to do a go-around from our first approach as we were not properly aligned with the runway, but their briefing helped get the circuit right and we landed on our second approach. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. We had forgotten to bring our tie-downs, so one of the instructors suggested that we leave our keys with them and if the weather turned windy, they would take the aircraft across to the ‘based-aircraft’ side and tie it down there for us. We couldn’t have asked for more!

There was no fuel available on our visit, (hence the return via Earls Colne), but the clubhouse was very smart and had self-service tea and coffee and snacks plus an outside seating area overlooking the airfield. It was also only a short walk (5 minutes) to the sea front. We arranged a hire car from Enterprise in Clacton who collected us (and the greyhounds) from the airfield and dropped us off on the Saturday. Only £23/day for a Ford Focus – excellent value and highly recommended.

A lovely and friendly airfield which is well worth a visit. If you want a meal when you visit, the café at the seafront is a pleasant short stroll away.