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Camphill Airfield is a hill-top gliding site set high above Hope Valley in the Derbyshire Peak District, some 1,293 feet above sea level. It is home to intensive winch-launched glider operations, making it a distinctive and challenging location for any pilot studying the area rather than a conventional destination for powered arrivals.
Camphill is a hill-top gliding site in Hope Valley, Derbyshire, used by the Derbyshire Soaring Club. Its high elevation, exposed edge and constant winch-launch activity make it an unusual and visually striking site to study in the simulator, though it is not intended as a field for visiting powered traffic.
The airfield sits on high ground above Hope Valley in the Derbyshire Peak District, surrounded by a patchwork of much smaller fields. No specific controlled airspace details are given in the available sources, but pilots should be aware that the site is a working gliding centre with winch cables regularly reaching up to 2000 feet above ground level, and gliders can be encountered anywhere in the vicinity of the airfield (https://ukga.com/airfield/camphill).
Camphill has two grass runways. The longer is orientated 01/19, at 3414 feet, and the shorter is 10/28, at 1523 feet. There is no ILS.
Launches at Camphill are almost entirely by winch, with a sailplane towed rapidly to around 1200 feet before releasing the cable and parachute at an acute angle to the winch so that the cable falls back onto the airfield; if the glider climbs off to one side of the winch run it is deliberately laying off so the breeze carries the cable back centrally after release. Powered and visiting pilots should never plan to thermal back across the airfield at or below sailplane launch height, nor fly in the lee of the hill edge, while launching is in progress. Gliders leaving the circuit typically fly a 360 degree turn, straighten up over the central gully known as Deadman's Clough at right angles to the edge, and then turn onto finals before landing (https://derbyshiresoaringclub.org.uk/camphill-gliding-club/).
The central gully crossing the airfield, known locally as Deadman's Clough, is a key visual feature used by glider pilots positioning for finals, with approaches typically crossing it at right angles to the hill edge before the turn onto the landing run (https://derbyshiresoaringclub.org.uk/camphill-gliding-club/).
Camphill remains an active hill-top gliding site operated by the Derbyshire Soaring Club, with frequent winch launching and numerous gliders typically present in the local area. It is not a site to plan a routine visit to by powered aircraft; while it could serve as a landing option in a genuine emergency in preference to the smaller surrounding fields, pilots are advised to avoid overflying within reach of the winch cables at all other times (https://ukga.com/airfield/camphill).
