Kite Festivals 1998

Well, this was the year we really discovered buggying! In March 1998 Brian got his first buggy plus Flexifoil Skytiger Hi-40 and in May Hezz got her first buggy and Predator 2.5m!

Most of the time we went to buggy at Russell's Water, with our friends Paul and Tess (pictured below). We also found time to visit a few kite festivals- here are the results!

Russell's Water
Greatstone-on-Sea Buggying
Wirral Buggying
Portsmouth International Kite Festival
Berrow Kite & Buggy Festival

Russell's Water: January 1998

Greatstone-on-Sea Festival of Sand and Surf: Saturday 21 February - Sunday 22 February 1998

This was our first beach buggying festival - it was quite cold and rainy on Day 1, but Brian still managed to get some buggying done. On Day 2 it was beautiful and sunny, although still a bit chilly. This really got us hooked on buggying on the beach!

As you can see, Brian had fun on the beach, while I took photographs....

Wirral Buggying: Saturday 4th July - Sunday 5th July 1998

This was a PKA event at Hoylake, Wirral (with plenty of sun but not a lot of wind, as you can see!). Click on any picture to see a larger version.

Portsmouth International Kite Festival: August 1998

Well, once again we chose a beautiful sunny day to attend the Portsmouth Kite Festival. Brian is pictured here outside the Sky Kites marquee, with Peter Mirkovic showing some customers the big-wheel buggies. This festival always takes place on the August Bank Holiday - the last weekend in August, and is always a hit with the public. Thousands flock to the festival on Southsea Common, which inevitably means there is no space to fly a decent kite (at least not without getting tangled with someone else's kite!) That also means that if you are trying to find a hotel in Portsmouth for the kite festival, you have to book early. This year's festival coincided with the Festival of the Sea, where lots of historic ships descended on Portsmouth, and so did lots of people. Result: no decent hotels available and a lack of parking spaces!

Other festivals attended this year:

Kite and Buggy Festival at Wroughton Aerodrome, Swindon.
Saturday 9th May - Sunday 10th May 1998.

Middle Wallop Kite and Buggy Festival, nr Andover, Hampshire.
Saturday 1st August - Sunday 2nd August 1998.

Berrow Kite & Buggy Festival