Hi Paul,

Welcome to the club.

For ground handling, Windy Knoll near Mam Tor is your best bet. We're allowed to ground handle there and it's ok in most wind directions. Probably not great in a northerly though.

I think all the info you need about parking and not pissing people off should be in the sites guide on this here website.
It certainly details the best parking for each site. But basically we have no special parking arrangements with anyone as far as I know. We either park at the side of the road where it's legal and we're not blocking farmers' access to gates etc, or in car parks, mostly run by the National Trust and we have to pay or be a member of the NT just like everyone else.

I guess the overnight 'hut' you referred to might be the Gliding Club at Camphill. They have accommodation or you can camp there for very reasonable rates. Just give them a ring and say you're a member of the DSC.

Hi Paul,

You may find a local park useful for ground handling. I live 90 mins south of peaks and have used local village sports ground and a large council park in Derby. Just make sure you have space to avoid public and obstacles. On light wind days also useful to practice on the hill before you intend to launch. A lot of new pilots wait for an ideal or one shot attempt and rush their launches. Often its better to lift wing and drop it several times then get comfortable with it overhead. Also some sites have relatively flat top areas to do this in particularly the top of Cats Tor and Lords Seat. Rushup is also good and you can move down the hill to give yourself more room. Once you have joined have a word with Chief Coach Ash Ghinn about any help you might need and/or pilots on the hill,

Chris