Pilot reviews of Shobdon Airfield
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| “ | I last visited in March 2016 and I must say once again (Oct 2017) there was a very warm and friendly reception from the tower and from Dawn to whom I paid the £ 14 landing fee for an SEP. By the time you read this, new catering arrangements will be in place so it will be interesting to visit again and see how they are. As far as the airfield is concerned the runway is in good condition and if one prefers, there is a parallel grass runway. We just managed to exit 27 hard via "Charlie" avoiding the need to backtrack. The grass parking is plentiful. Fuel is straight ahead between the hangar and Charlie and it is self service with a standard credit card for avgas or mogas. Well worth a look on their website under Pilot Information for noise abatement etc but it's basically avoid the small villages. Information (including a webcam) can be found on : http://shobdonairfield.co.uk You may also want to browse Facebook for Shobdon Airfield and/or Herefordshire Aero Club. This is the sort of place that if you needed a hand - they would only be too happy to assist. Billiant. ” |
| “ | I flew into Shobdon yesterday as it has always been one of my favorite destinations. The reasons why pilots fly into various airfields are usually varied but something to eat or drink on arrival is usually one of them. I was incredibly disappointed with the cafe at Shobdon. No cutlery in the help yourself trays, people were having to ask for them and not only that, the cutlery tray was filthy! The area where the customer prepares their tea/coffee was also appalling and in need of cleaning. To add to that, I waited 45 minutes for a simple meal which arrived almost cold and the girl who served us had an attitude. Not a good experience and I will not be eating there any more. Shobdon, if you want to know how its done properly, take a look at how Kemble do it!! ” |
| “ | Visited Shobdon on 15 August. As I have said before, Shobdon is one of my top 10 UK airfields and the Café seems to just get better all the time and the outside seating area is very well kept and has a great view of the airfield. All the staff are friendly and the Radio is very well handled.
The walks into the village and up to the old church are wonderful for the greyhounds and even the nearby apple orchards are open to walk through, courtesy of Bulmer's!
Well worth a visit if you like friendly airfields with a good café and lovely countryside to fly and walk over. ” |
| “ | Visited Shobdon today 14.04.16 Great airfield and so friendly Controller was really helpful and café excellent quality (and quantity) (New w and b check needed on leaving)
Runway and taxiway in good condition and grass runway looked very solid considering recent weather
Worth a visit for anyone who wants to keep these airfields active. Thanks to everyone at Shobdon ” |
| “ | What a nice airfield ! Options of both grass & tarmac with a very pleasant feel to the place. Very sensibly laid out. Fuel is north of taxiway Charlie, beyond which is the office for paying a very reasonable £ 12 landing fee, festooned with aviation models hanging from the rafters and murals of the wall. Beyond the office, through the adjoining door is the café which was busy, but with a rapid turnover of tables and having a very reasonably priced, extensive array of meal options. Nice atmosphere, good buzz.
The AFISO was very busy. Were requested to join/report overhead per comprehensive guide as listed on the aerodrome’s website (well done – very helpful). The gliding circuit is to the north (landing on the grass), GA to the south for the tarmac. However arriving at 12:40 there were several a/c movements going on. The poor controller was busier than Bristol LARS with requests from pilots to taxi; fuel; retrieve gliders, not to mention the circuit and inbound traffic ! In actual fact there wasn’t any other traffic in the circuit when we landed, in spite of a lot going on in the vicinity (on the radio/on the ground). GA parking was between Bravo & Charlie on the north side grass. Good firm, well drained parking.
As we fly a SLMG, we went to have a chat with the glider pilots and Diana made us feel very welcome. Some people wear high viz. some don’t, but one got the impression it is “preferred”. A very good base to explore that part of the world (by air at least), although hangarage is limited. Well worth a return visit. ” |
| “ | I had a pleasant July flight to Shobdon from City Airport Manchester with two friends and lunch when we got there. Fantastic airfield with great runway and ample parking. We had a nice meal in the restaurant and sat outside in the sun. Could have spent some time in there looking at the memorabilia! Helpful A/G and both PPR and departure briefing. Again, an airfilef that i shall return to when it stops raining. The video is on YouTube if you are interested? http://youtu.be/uVnlWEXAtns ” |
| “ | Had a lovely trip into Shobdon today, from Kemble in my Pup 150. Wife and i had tea and a snack meal in the friendly 'Hotspur' restaurant. Prices and menu are very attractive; you just have to allow time for the food to come, as with all the best airfield restaurants and cafes around Sunday lunchtime. The beautiful weather was interrupted by a shower when we arrived but that's what happens when you're so close to Wales! PPR is mandatory but this took the form of a very pleasant conversation. ATS were very helpful on arrival, particularly with guidance on the wide noise-abatement circuit. Traffic got a bit busy around our departure time but the queue of a/c 'ready for departure' was quickly cleared. I look forward to my next visit. ” |
| “ | Had the pleasure of visiting the Shobdon wine and food festival recently, what a well run friendly spot.
We topped up with UL91 from a well set up refuelling station. Then were directed to the parking area very smoothly. The show was great and we stocked up with some good home produce .we liked it so much we just bought a static camper on the airfield ,
Really good the way many different types of machines fly from there Inc.gyros/gliders/vintage/heli/ and GA. The grass and hard runways are well kept. The place is going through a transformation and they have high hopes for the future,with more hanger space it would be among the nicest airfields in the country.they are seeking a manager for the cafe.
” |
| “ | Visited Shobdon on 7 Aug 2013, as an out and return from Enstone. On landing and taxying off the hard runway at the mid point my aircraft threw a main wheel tyre. Imobilized and now blocking the runway, a member of the Aero Club was quickly dispatched and when we determined the aircraft could not be easily moved without damaging the wheel, the maintenance guys were out pronto, with not only a jack, but specialist strut plate, allowing us to move the aircraft easily out of everyone's way. A replacement wheel (and engineer) arrived later from home base and all was well. What was so impressive and pleasant was how everyone involved including the Controller, Aero Club and maintenance guys pitched in to help. All much appreciated and leaving a lasting impression from what is lovely airfield. And the food was great too - not had ham that thick for ages! I shall be back. ” |
| “ | Visited Shobdon on 1 September as the first leg of the Westair fly-out to Compton Abbas. The location is lovely and on previous occasions, we have taken the greyhounds for walks across the hills just to the north of the airfield.
The café and outside seating at Shobdon is amongst the best at any airfield. The café has a good selection of food and drinks, (and great bacon butties!) and the seating area is next to the aircraft grass parking and you can watch the powered aircraft, gliders and buzzards flying all day. A lovely airfield which remains amongst my personal top ten.
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| “ | As a pilot I recently visited Shobdon airfield to look at a plane that was for sale. We stayed overnight in an excellent B & B at Lowe Farm and re visited Shobdon the next morning. We were taken up in a Wam diesel RV6, as well as a flight in the plane for sale. My wife who is also a keen passenger, went up in the plane for sale. We were treated with great enthusiasm and the people we met who were dealing with their respectivre planes, mostly kit builds. were an amazing lot who gave excellent advice and who were all super friendly. The restaurant food was good, but the wait was appalling - I believe that is being rectified as we were with one of the club committee members who was going to take action. I would recommend a visit to this airfield as the people are very keen and knowledgable about flying and will be very welcoming. When we get our next plane we are certainly going to make a return visit. Keith and Sue ” |
| “ | Flew in with a free landing voucher (Oct 2011) in a PA28 from Stapleford - my first and last visit! Having carefully studied the noise abatement circuit join etc and booked PPR before take off (now essential at Shobdon) we were surprised to here from ATC that they had no record of our details. What irritated most were questions over the air such as 'Who did you speak to and when?' before we were given permission to land. The approach to runway 09 had no undershoot being filled with a sort of agricultural machinery boot sale, although the displacement was adequate for clearance. We eventually found our details on a piece of paper with the lady in control who had not passed them on to ATC! In the cafe the service was slow and the quality of food very poor, and the hot chocolate was appalling. Its a busy airfield with seemingly more helicopter movements than fixed wing. Anyway we enjoyed the scenery on the way home which is all I can say for our trip to Shobdon. ” |
| “ | Flew to Shobdon after Welshpool decided to close suddenly despite nothing being NOTAMed. AFIS information service very friendly and helpful. Things to note here are not to get below 1500' QFE on the North of the airfield (deadside), and that the circuits are VERY wide (outside the 2 villages to the South). I got told off for being too close in. ” |
| “ | Stopped at Shobdon for the weekend for a wedding.
The staff were very helpful and friendly with lots of useful advice and help when I lost a plate for Carlisle.
Nice place with a very busy little cafe that is obviously well used by he locals. No surprise there because the food is excellent and an amazing chioce available! ” |
| “ | Visited Shobdon on Saturday 24 July as part of the return leg of the Westair fly-out to Sywell.
I’ve visited before and it is still one of my favourite airfields: location, café and club-house. Super.
The airfield is easy to spot (huge long and wide runway – although the current hard runway is only part of the width and length – but beautifully surfaced). However, it is always busy and you have to keep a very good look out for other traffic including gliders (and tugs). On the day of our visit, the weather was poor with low cloud and showers – adding to the workload, however, the A/G was good and everyone kept a good lookout.
The café is good, but was winding down when we arrived (late afternoon) and we were rather pre-occupied with planning a safe route home.
If you ever want a great walk from an airfield – try Shobdon and the ridge to the north. Wonderful views and an energetic walk – you can watch the Buzzards making our pathetic attempts at flight look puny compared to them.
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| “ | Really enjoyed my visit to Shobdon. very easy to spot with its longish hard runway. ATC was fine on the day I visited and coped with 5 of us arriving in procession without any problems.
Food was excellent, Avgas available. all in all an excellent airfield and one I shall re-visit ” |
| “ | I have visted Shobdon about 8 times now. Every nice air field to visit. My only complante is the A\G is very intermitent. Food in the cafe is great. I landed there yesterday fo my 1st grass landing, felt a little unconfatble when the A\G dissapear ” |
| “ | Visited Shobdon on 13th March, ATC very good, concise instructions on what was a very busy day, many microlights, gliders and fixed wing all in their own circuit pattern, but well controlled by ATC even if it is only air ground.
Food was excellent and the service was very good, as they were also very busy. Enjoyed my visit and will go again, highly reccomended. ” |
| “ | Flew from wellesbourne into shobdon for the first time last week. A/G radio intermittently manned at best: dont expect a response more than 50% of the time. Clear noise abatement procedure on the website. Airfield was busy and parking a complete "free for all" with no indication or directions from A/G, AIS or website on where they want you to park! In the end just plonked it on the grass by the other club aircraft, so I guess as long as youre not blocking the main taxiway its fine!. Grass runway and taxiway badly cutup with huge holes in it which needs extreme care while taxiing. Main asphalt runway narrow but long and in very good condition. Friendly staff in the aero club. Landing fee a reasonable £10. NDB capture from a good 20 miles out at 2200 feet. Nice open countryside but not sure what else there is to do in the locality: we played frisbee in the carpark after a nice picnic. ” |
| “ | I visited Shobdon on Saturday afternoon flying out from Wellesbourne. The route is very familiar to me, as I've flown overhead Shobdon quite a few times during my PPL training. But it’s the first time I’ve actually landed and visited. From Wellesbourne it’s a very easy and straight due west route, within uncontrolled air-space (just keep south of Birmingham!) Shobdon have a very detailed noise abatement map on there website with clear instructions, I was all prepared for the overhead join and then avoiding the villages and towns as the directions provide, however in the end I was given a 4nm final approach straight in Rnw 27 Fantastic !!, ATC were very friendly and the Cafe is great value! I'll be stopping there again and hoping for slightly better weather next time though, as between Wellesbourne and Worcester the max height I could gain and remain VFR was 1,200 still good views at those dizzy heights! ” |
| “ | Lovely scenery on approach but not much on the AFIS nor on the ground.
Catering wise it seems like a very friendly place for the locals but somehat at the cost of visitors. What I had was late and cold.
Nice runway. ” |
| “ | Took a trip to Shobdon last Saturday from Fairoaks, it was our first visit to the airfield, went via Compton VOR and Kemble, Farnbrough and Brize radar gave their usual excellent service. Apart from local noise abaitment procedures arrival was very straight forward, and a lovely sunny day with great visability to the Welsh mountains. AFIS were very helpful to, they had closed the hard taxi way and created a grass one which some people were using as parking, bit like a aircraft boot sale, a little confusing when it comes to taxing, bit of a free for all. However upon landing we opened the aircraft door their was a very strong smell of what appeared 'Dogs Poo' which really took the edge of the lovely home made Steak and Kidney pie and chips, We sat outside of the club house in the sun and watched the world pass by, but due to the ongoing smell we decided to return home, A nice place to visit but I hope the smell gets cured by the time we return. Ohh very frendly cafe staff, unlike some comments posted in a previous review..Well done Shobdon, we will be going back.
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| “ | Were fairly impressed with this airfield. We spent a morning there and although we didn't eat we had a cup of tea. The food didn't smell the best so gave that a wide berth but the views and location made up for that.
It has a small campsite near the apron which we would have liked to have tried at a later date but replying to e-mails is not there strong point so decided against that idea. Again, plenty to see and do in the local area and airfield is probably great on an airshow day for it's location.
Hope to visit again soon and spend longer in the local area. ” |
| “ | I would love someone to try this for me.....
Visit Shobdon and at 11.01am try and order a breakfast! Do you remember that film 'Falling Down' when Michael Douglas goes mad? Well, luckily I kept my cool whilst Hitler and her sidekick abused me for asking for such a product!
Eat here at your peril!!
” |
| “ | Visited Shobdon today as my first flight after gaining my PPL, with Instructor, wife and club Ops Manager in the aircraft to keep me honest!
Found it relatively easily, but the FISO was incredibly busy and seemed more involved in preventing traffic jams on the ground than talking to pilots still in the air. Had a close moment on base leg with another pilot inside me heading for the grass runway, but we got it sorted and all ended up fine.
Food was top notch, and very reasonably priced. Will definitely be back! ” |
| “ | Visited Shobdon today ( 13th May ) Nice run down from Blackpool via Low Level Route. Airfield came into a surprise view when we popped over the hills from the north.No one on radio but calls from other aircraft all ok.
Great scenary around the airfield and today there were a couple of Hercules doing low level go rounds. Great little cafe, very cheap, quick service and good quality. £10 landing fee for C172
Will visit again, friendly place. If anyone is going though, download circuit details due to noise abatement.
” |
| “ | Flew in to Shobdon to fly my family out for some sight seeing. The airfield was easy to find (especially with some recce on Google Earth!!). The A/G was absolutely fine (it was the weekend). There is a very friendly atmosphere and it was wonderfully busy. The food was excellent and well priced and came very quickly despite a warning that it wouldn't from the staff!! The noise abatement circuit is big but it is amazing how many people ignore it...it was not hard to download it from the Herefordshire Aero Club site. Also there overhead join procedure seems to be one rule for locals and one rule for people who know what an overhead join is. The locals seem to fly straight over all the villages they are supposed to avoid! The airfield is very busy with glider aero-tow launches, microlights and fixed wing. Don't go at a weekend unless your airmanship is up to scratch. And to the idiot who parked a foot in front of my prop; thanks for making my family push my aircraft out of the parking spot! ” |
| “ | Flew in to Shobdon today for the first time. Very pleasant airfield with a nice, relaxed, welcoming atmosphere and an interesting mix of aircraft. Very easy to find, but reluctantly have to report that the A/G is very hit and miss - there one minute and gone the next. Be sure to check the Shobdon website to get a map for their noise abatement procedures and to help keep the neighbours happy!
Hot food available for most of the day, which was very good value and decent quality - not the usual greasy spoon.
Worth a visit? Absolutely. Would I visit again? Yup, certainly. ” |
| “ | Visited Shobdon for the first time from Plymouth (via Haverfordwest). The route to Shobdon gave us some amazing views in the Brecon area and the airfield was easy to find. The layout is very good with large parking areas, some of which were just for visiting aircraft. The A/G service was sort of ok although it didn't seem to be operating at all times. The circuit is quite big due to noise abatement procedures..............and we had to go-around. Worth a visit if you are in the area. ” |
| “ | A friendly place with grass in excellent state, well-marked taxiways and aircraft parking. The cafe (midweek too) serves good quality food at very reasonable prices, with plenty of outside tables for when the weather is good. No A/G service when I visited, but there was little traffic anyway so not a problem.
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| “ | I flew in today, as part of my PPL training. This was only my second land-away, and was easier than I had expected. From Leominster to the east, you can see the field easily. The trees at the eastern edge of 27 are a little disconcerting for the novice, but I know for next time. Only had time for a cup of tea and a Danish, but the menu looks reasonable. A very friendly airfield. Good fun, I'll be back. It was also my wife's first time as a passenger with me, and she enjoyed the ride. ” |
| “ | I flew into Shobdon for the PFA Strut fly-in on 26th May and was met with an extremely warm welcome.
The circuits are larger than most GA airfields due to noise sensitive villages located where the conventional downwind leg would be. Care must be taken to avoid these villages to the south of the field. The westerly runway was in use when I flew in.
The runway/taxyway intersection is located closer to the westerly threshold, so when using this runway an accurate approach may be required to ensure the turn-off can be made without the need to backtrack. It's no big deal if you do, but it might be advantageous (to accomodate others in the circuit) to land long-ish and vacate at the end rather than land on the numbers, miss the exit and have to backtrack. Typically, most don't appear to miss the exit by much and so tend to backtrack to vacate.
There is a parallel grass runway (called 'Northside Grass') that is typically used by the gliders, although it is available to all where circumstances allow. All of the movement areas appeared in good condition. ” |
| “ | Went to Shobdon on my QXC, and will definitely be returning. Friendly, helpful staff made all the paperwork juggling, landing fee paying a refuelling run nice and smoothly. Great atmosphere-the café was full of families, and visitors, and there was a steady stream of landing traffic. Good chocolate cake too! ” |
| “ | Went to Shobdon as one of my landaways for my PPL training. Found it really easily, the FISO service was excellent, even helping me with parking directions and giving me radio checks when my box 1 radio decided to fail on me !
The bacon butties are the best I've ever tasted and even better when enjoyed sitting outside on the picnic benches in the sunshine. A gem of a GA airfield. ” |
| “ |  Shobdon airfield, is a mixture of laid back, relaxing fun, against a backdrop of manic aircraft movements. I flew up today for the first time, and found it quite easily.
The radio was very friendly, and the welcome very worm. While I was there, three Harriers made an approach, and then flew off, great to see. On departure, the was nobody in the tower, so just had to keep talking, so that other pilots knew what I was doing. I would recomend a visit, and the grub is good too. ” |
| “ | Excellent place to visit and Alex's hospitality is splendid. Beer prices a little high at £2.00 compared with local pubs. ” |
| “ | Visited today (29/05/05) very busy, well handed by the FISO even marshalled for parking. Wide range of aircrafts, gyros, gliders, the lot. Spent a couple of hours there. Had lunch, which was excellent. A great field, would recommend a visit. ” |
| “ | Have visited shobdon very many time as it is only 55 miles from swansea over the brecon becons. A nice flight in itself and good reason to go. Once there it is totaly GA with lots of activity and things to see, have on several different occasions seen the guy in the C152 i think side sliping in on finals looks very impresive had me standing up the first time i saw it.
Easy ish to find if you dont use the NDB or the brecon VOR and DME at the foot of the hills. has lots of gliding going on there
Nice cafe with good food the sunday lunch is very nice.
if it is within your area of opperations i would go there one sunday afternoon in the summer for a look.
all the best nick ” |
| “ | Nice & friendly place. Good facilities, and a cooked breakfast to see you through the weekend !! Very easy to find (NDB on airfield), and an interesting range of a/c there when we went. ” |
| “ | No longer any good looking for the trees on the south perimeter, they've all been chopped down... ” |
| “ | Great field with friendly staff, excellent cafe with a V.good menu. Well worth a visit. ” |
| “ | Popped into Shobdon for a decent cup of tea and a nice Eccles cake (also a drop of Lycoming lotion) 26/07/04. A decent little airfield. ” |
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