Pilot reviews of Sleap Airfield

Visited Sleap on 15 October to take the greyhounds for a walk. We’ve visited many times before and always find it a very charming location, although it can get VERY busy at weekends with aircraft arriving from all directions. The café is excellent and does some of the nicest bacon butties going as well as a lovely Earl Grey tea. My idea of heaven is sitting outside the control tower, overlooking the airfield with a bacon butty, a cup of tea, the smell of newly mown grass, the sight of the Welsh hills in the distance and lots of aircraft (including an Avro Anson on our latest visit) in the circuit – well, does life get better than this?

On previous visits, I’ve been to the Aircraft Recovery Group museum adjacent to the control tower. The museum is incredible and it’s like a ‘Tardis’ inside – so much to see and very well worth a visit. Without a doubt, Sleap is one of my favourite airfields and, being only a 35 minute flight from Blackpool, one that I (and the greyhounds) never tire of visiting.

Flew in to Sleap on a training flight from Liverpool, it is a great place to learn to talk on the radio, a lovely setting and just a generally good airfield.

Great old school airfield and well worth a visit for the famous chips! Cafe is lovely and all staff gave us a very warm welcome. A little busy through the MATZ and a very keen pair of eyes is needed for the circuit traffic. Genuine great place to visit.

I have been flying from Sleap as a member of the Shropshire Aero Club for the past three years and before that as a member of various clubs in the south east of England for the past thirty years. I have to say that my enthusiasm for flying has been renewed by flying at Sleap, no needless rules, realistic flying currency rules, realistic prices, friendly and approachable staff and members, lovely location, little or no controlled airspace nonsense, the list is endless. It has certainly been quite an eye-opener as to how General Aviation should be rather than how it is particularly in the London area. Long may it continue.

Flew into Sleap on a fairly spontaneous trip - we'd initially planned Wycombe but decided to remain in the north west as it was a little murky on departure and ended up calling at both Tatenhill and Sleap.

A/G was professional at all times, particularly on departure when it seemed everyone on the apron wanted to leave at once! A friendly welcome from everyone on the ground as well.

However the food was the best bit - full English with tea and toast for less than a fiver, and superb quality to boot, along with a friendly welcome. What more could you need from a Sunday afternoon?!

To sit here in the warm WWII Control Tower, overlooking the activity out on the apron, with the Welsh & Shropshire hills in the distance, still coated with last night's frost, enjoying superior scrambled eggs and coffee and a friendly welcome after an early morning flight, has to be one of the better ways to spend Sunday morning.

One of my personal flying highlights when I was based there was to arrive back at 8pm on a glorious summer evening in the 172 - everyone had gone home so we had a message to 'please lock up'. The sound of the skylarks, the ticking of the engine and the WW2 Control Tower were really very evocative.

Great bacon sarnies too.