IF YOU have ever been spellbound at the sight of colourful canopies hovering above the Lakeland fells, the chances are you were watching members of the Cumbria Soaring Club.

This network of like-minded locals meets when the conditions are right to enjoy one of the most exhilarating sports around: paragliding.

Sitting in a harness under a fabric ‘wing’, supported only by the rising thermals, the club’s 250 members are among those involved in a unique, life-affirming sport. Whether hovering above stunning scenery or getting involved in the burgeoning competitive paragliding scene, there is simply no other sport like it.

Cumbria Soarers go paragliding ‘whenever the weather’s fine’, said club social secretary Lance Greenhalgh.

The club works with landowners and farmers to enable them to stage events, which typically involves launching from a fellside in Cumbria, the Dales or The Pennines.

The sport is open to everybody, and CSC itself has members aged from 18 to 60.

Competitive gliding typically involves trying to stay airborne for the longest amount of time, though the club’s most famous competitive event is the X Lakes, which involves a triangular course between Scafell Pike, Helvellyn and Skiddaw, taking around ten hours to complete.

To be able to paraglide, you must first go on a British Hand Gliding and Paragliding Association course.

Introductory courses cost around £400 and involve around ten days of practical and theory tests. After that you will need to buy a glider, harness, helmet, flight suit and boots. Items like a GPS navigators and radio are also used.

To find out more, visit www.bhpa.co.uk/bhpa/learn-to-fly or check out the Cumbria Soaring Club at www.cumbriasoaringclub.co.uk.