Dropsafe

by Alec Muffett

Llandegley International Airport

To quote [www.guardian.co.uk] :-

Just outside Crossgates on the A44 is a large notice which proclaims: “Llandegley International Airport, 2.5 miles”. However, at Llandegley there are only low mountains and lightly wooded hills, among which it would be difficult to land even a light aircraft. Does anyone have an explanation?
AG Price, Oldbury, Midlands.

I’ve been past this sign many times in the past few years – it looks very professional, in the correct font for a roadsign, and currently advertises:

Terminals 1 and 3 ; Terminal 2 Under Construction

…which will be a deeply resonant concept for anyone else who (like me) lives in the catchment area for LHR.

I finally thought to feed it into Google, yielding [www.llandegleyinternational.com] :-

Our Mission

We wish to inspire people to soar above the mundane, the rational and the predictable. We are in the business of expanding your horizons and encouraging you to explore new worlds – worlds that were previously unimagined.

If you are among the small but increasing number people who have seen the Llandegley sign and wondered what it was all about, that process has already begun for you. […]

Flights of fancy from the heart of Wales

Click on the Activities and News links, to put it all in context.

The funny thing is, I am pretty certain there is a small glider airstrip somewhere nearby…

⊞

Comments

6 responses to “Llandegley International Airport”

  1. alecm
    re: Llandegley International Airport

    maybe not 100% hoax?

    see: ukga.com/aerodrome/view.cfm?aerodromeId=3688

    Reply
  2. yon
    re: Llandegley International Airport

    I’d always assumed it was referring to the Llandegla one – which is actually North Wales Gliding club. (I spent a while looking up gliding clubs in Wales a few years back before doing flying lessons, but the northern ones only half stuck in my memory).

    http://www.gliding.co.uk/findaclub/wales.htm shows the nearest clubs, so you should probably be able to confirm which one you had in mind…

    yon

    Reply
  3. Peter

    It’s actually a spoof dreamed up by a couple of friends of mine over a bottle (or two!) of wine late one night, to try and put Llandegley on the map. There is no actual airport, though a local paragliding centre (with no connection to the spoofers) used to hurl their trainees off the nearby hill. 🙂 Sadly, the subscription for the billboard has now run out and it’s reverted to an ad for the billboard company…

    Reply
  4. Elinor

    Like Beddgelert? Sorry. It doesn’t fly except to help keep one of Wales’ best-kept secrets well, secret.
    Hassle-free LIA has a far better safety record than alternative airports. I shave hours off my travel time by landing in Llandegley and getting a rental car for Aber (Mon Amour). Like Long Beach compared to LAX? Welsh speaking staff all know English. Heavy use by CEOs, execs (informed class) not tourists.

    Reply
  5. richard Krakowski

    I’ve flown from Llandegley International and I can thoroughly recommend the experience, though rather surreal. I would suggest that you take your own food as the catering services are sparse, and a pair of wings may come in useful.

    Reply
  6. Gez Franklin

    Brilliant

    Reply

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