When it comes to a free day out, it doesn’t get much bigger, better or more dramatic than this!  We have 10 great reasons why you’ll be racing to join in the high-flying fun at this year’s action-packed Festival of Flight in the skies over Newcastle on Saturday 5 August.

  1. It’s headlined by the Red Arrows, the world-famous aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force. Be ready for their spectacular entrance as they zoom over the Mourne Mountains to launch into display mode over the natural amphitheatre of Dundrum Bay.
  1. It’s free! So you can bring the kids’ mates without fear of bankruptcy!
  1. Get in on the action in Newcastle town centre – the town’s fantastic promenade will be hiving with people, fun and atmosphere – or choose your viewing spot in a more tranquil location along the shoreline of Dundrum Bay or in those glorious mountains.
  1. Check out the event’s headline sponsor. Rockwell Collins manufactures seats for the world’s major commercial airline seats at its factory in Kilkeel … and you thought Kilkeel was just a sleepy fishing village!
  1. Take a stroll around the Aviation Village with its live music and retail concessions, with great local food and drink … and its own Beer Tepee.
  1. Make a weekend of it. From caravan sites to camping, glamping, B&B and wonderful touch-of-luxury hotels, there are some fantastic places to stay in and around Newcastle. 
  1. Celebrate the vintage vibe. The Spitfire and the Lancaster will be amongst the stunning stars from aviation history delighting audiences with their aerial derring-do, but at ground level you can get up close and personal with displays by the Ulster Aviation Society, the Ulster Military Vehicle Club and even The Excavation Society whose unearthed treasures include a real World War II Spitfire!
  1. Have a go! Ok so no-one is going to let you test drive a plane but, courtesy of local Air Cadets, you and the kids can climb into a real Jet Provost or Hunter cockpit … or climb into the RAF’s Typhoon facsimile and let your imagination take flight.
  1. Make vrooming noises as you imagine yourself astride a gleaming Harley Davidson, riding through County’s Down’s super-scenic countryside. Choose your ideal bike (we can all dream) as the Belfast Chapter of the Harley Davidson Owners Group revs into town in a spectacular parade then parks up at the Newcastle Centre for an envy-inducing Custom Bike Show.
  1. No need to rush home after the afternoon air display. After spending the day in the company of U105’s Maurice J and Denis Watson, dig out your ‘Frankie Says’ tee shirt and pull on your Day-Glo warmers and prepare to boogie on down with The Pleasure Dome 80’s Tribute Band. They’ll be giving it all they’ve got at the Festival Stage on Newcastle Promenade.

Ready to plan your big day? www.visitmournemountains.co.uk  or call 028 4372 2222 for plane facts (see what we did there?) about the programme for the 2017 Newry, Mourne & Down District Council Festival of Flight sponsored by Rockwell Collins. #giantadventures

 

 

Laura Caldwell

Author: Laura Caldwell

Hi, I'm Laura. I'm 30 years old and have a degree in Journalism with Photo-Imaging at the University of Ulster. I have an undying love for Belfast and all that it has to offer, an undying love for sleeping, Tegan and Sara, trashy tv shows, foreign snack-foods and being irresponsible with money. I also quite like origami, reading, jazz, hip-hop, dubstep, anything acoustic and Food Network TV. I've written for The Big List, Culture NI, Chatterbox and The Echo, as well as writing for BBC Across the Line.