The majestic osprey is a sea fishing hawk. Once common in England, these birds almost disappeared from the skies before conservationists stepped in to reintroduce them. Nowadays, Dorset is one of the best places in the country to catch a glimpse of an osprey in flight. It’s also an ideal place to mimic the effortless flight of birds, by taking to the skies in a paraglider. A mild climate, good winds and elevated slopes are just what you need to take off from the ground and fly through the air in complete tranquillity, and you’ll find plenty of them in Dorset.

And that’s not to mention the views to be enjoyed from the air - over half the county has Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status. The Jurassic Coast, so called for its notable geology and fossil finds, makes up three quarters of the coastline, while chalk ridges criss-cross the rural interior. Patchwork fields surround picturesque villages in the idyllic landscape that inspired the works of Thomas Hardy and Enid Blyton. On top of that, there are no noisy motorways here to ruin the peace of a paragliding adventure. If it’s good enough for the ospreys, surely it’s good enough for you!

Where are the best places to go paragliding in Dorset?

• The Isle of Purbeck: bordered on three sides by water, Purbeck is a peninsula separated from the urban conurbation of Bournemouth and Poole by Poole Harbour. This is one of the largest natural harbours in the world and contains several islands, including Brownsea Island which is the birthplace of the Scouting movement. The Jurassic coast begins at the Eastern point of the peninsula, Old Harry Rocks, and the cliffs, bays and beaches that follow make this one of the most striking coastlines in the country. High headlands, perfectly formed coves and the impressive rocky arch of Durdle Door are photographers’ favourites. While most visitors have to settle for ground-level views, you’ll have the best seat in the house to enjoy this panorama suspended below a paraglider’s wing.

• Chesil Beach: a bank of shingle that forms a continuous barrier against ocean swells for 18 miles, Chesil beach connects the mainland to the Isle of Portland. Stone quarried on this island was used to build some of the grandest Victorian buildings in London. Behind the beach you’ll be able to look down on the largest lagoon in the country, while at the Western end the coastline rises to the cliffs of Golden Cap, the highest point on the South coast. Paragliding in this area offers spectacular views in all directions,

• North Dorset: the rolling landscape of the Dorset heartlands has a special charm when observed from the air. Here you’ll see Shaftesbury, the only hilltop town in the county, as well as the sources of the rivers Axe and Yeo. Gliding over Sherbourne, you’ll be able to peek inside the walls of the Tudor era castle, while you might see a naked giant reclining on a hillside near the town of Cerne Abbas (don’t worry, it’s only a figure cut into the chalk!).

Meeting points

- For flights over the South and West of Dorset the meeting point is at West Bexington, a village that winds down a valley to Chesil Beach. From here you’ll travel to one of a large number of possible take-off points, most of them just inland from the beach, and around the seaside village of Eype to the West.

- The historic town of Sherborne is the meeting point for the North of the county, with hills around the Blackmore Vale providing the elevation and orientation to catch favourable winds. Bell Hill, in central Dorset is commonly used as a starting point for paragliding trips. It’s been a significant place for thousands of years: ancient earthworks and burial mounds are evidence of prehistoric human activity and can easily be seen soon after take-off.

Requirements to do this activity

If you’ve never experienced this wind powered way of flying before, you’ll probably want to go for a tandem flight. These use a large parachute, or wing, to provide enough lift for two people: you and your pilot. While you’ll sit in your own harness, the pilot will control the take-off, flight and landing, and being an expert paraglider with an intimate knowledge of the Dorset landscape, they’ll be able to point out the sights as well. Some paragliders will take children on a tandem flight, but 14 years old is a more common minimum age. We also have to bear that this sport involves being suspended in the air, so weight is a consideration anyone from 20 to 120kg should be able to take part in a tandem jump.

Although a level of physical fitness is usually required to get to the take-off point and into the air, efforts are being made to make this as inclusive an experience as possible. There’s special equipment that can be used to take people with disabilities up into the air and a charity in Dorset works in partnership with paragliding providers to help people with limited mobility or other situations to get involved in paragliding.

How long does this experience last?

- Tandem flights can last as little as 20 minutes, so if you’re timid when it comes to taking to the air this could be the perfect way to step out of your comfort zone. 30 minutes to an hour is a more common duration which will be enough to see some of what this region has to offer. Alternatively, if you want to take in the whole panorama of the Jurassic Coast, or see a broader swathe of the countryside, you can take an extended flight (weather conditions permitting).

- Finally, for those who want to pilot a paraglider themselves, there are a range of courses which will let you get airborne, and even become qualified. Even a one day course will give you the chance to complete individual flights from Dorset hill sides, probably of shorter duration and at low altitude. The first level of competence recognised by the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association takes 3 to 4 days to achieve, which can be consecutive or spread out over several weeks or months. If you want to master the skies unsupervised in all flyable conditions, you’ll need to take a 10 day Club Pilot course. The good thing about this is you’ll have the opportunity to fly across the beautiful county of Dorset, from the Purbeck Hills to the Lyme Regis cliffs, and from Cranborne Chase to Bell Hill.

To fly like a bird, just make a booking and wait for clear skies! We’ll take care of the rest.