‘I sold my house to go gliding’

Each time Victoria Beckham trims her tresses Britain’s hairdressers sharpen their scissors for the rush of clients keen to copy her crop.

So no doubt gliding clubs across the country are now stretching their wings at the sight of Posh soaring above the ski-slopes in a hang-glider.

The daredevil mother-of-three tried out her first high-flying stunt this month while on holiday with her son Brooklyn and she certainly could not be missed in her bright canary yellow outfit.

And it certainly won’t surprise some of Shropshire’s gliding girls if she finds herself addicted to the adrenaline rush and moves on to taking to the skies in a glider for her own solo flight.

In particular Sarah Platt - one of the county’s most successful gliders who has given up her job and sold her house just so she can “fly for the entire summer”.

Sarah admits it’s drastic but that, for her, gliding is an obsession she simply cannot resist.

Together with husband Rich she has quit her career for the next six months and sold her home to fund a carefree stint of travelling and gliding which saw her jet off to America for six weeks earlier this month.

But for Sarah, just one of the fanatical female members at the Midland Gliding Club on the Long Mynd, this is something which is in the blood. She jokily admits that she was conceived at the club, based in one of the most picturesque corners of Shropshire.

“My parents were both dedicated gliders and met at the club and I met my husband here. The first time I was in a glider I was only five years old. I love it. There is a sense of independence and freedom which you don’t get with anything else.”

But Sarah, a cross country competition flyer, is also currently enjoying a sense of freedom of a different kind.

“We just took the decision that we wanted a 2007 plan which gave us the chance of an experience of a lifetime that we might not get otherwise. It’s going to be a fantastic summer and when winter comes around again we can start again with the jobs and buying a new house hopefully.

“The house sold the day after we put it on the market which was just brilliant and I left work on March 29. It might seem crazy to other people but it’s the best thing we could have done.”

Sarah is also planning plenty of other adventures during her trip and enjoyed a plane trip over the Grand Canyon during her first few days in America before leaving for Honduras.

During her time in Honduras she will learn Spanish and spend time on a volunteer project building houses for local people in association with Save The Children.

But while Sarah’s bid for flight this summer is a gamble which is paying off, she is not the only woman to have caught the gliding bug.

Her club now boasts about 25 per cent female members aged from 12 to their 60s.

They include Jeanette Griffin, who enjoyed her first flight after her children treated her to it for her 61st birthday in 2005 and she has hardly had a chance to come down since.

“I really just loved it and was hooked straight away,” said Jeanette. “Now I come here as often as I can and enjoy flying the glider myself.”

Molly Robinson is just 12 years old and travels from Swansea to go gliding with her father. Pilots have to be 14 to fly solo and she can’t wait.

And while Sarah may have sold her home to be able to fly as much as she wants, Ann Parry, right, moved from High Wycombe to live in South Shropshire so she could spend as much of her spare time as possible at the club. Her parents were also both keen gliders.

At 15, Jade Adams, pictured, from Church Stretton is also one of the younger members of the Long Mynd gliding girls and one of the most enthusiastic.

Her mother Heidi takes care of all the catering at the club and braved her first flight at Easter, but she maintains she may leave the high-flying to her daughter.

“It gives you confidence and I also love the social aspect of the club,” said Jade. Lynette Causer is 24 and heads up to the club most weekends from her home in Bishop’s Castle.

But then this club has a rich heritage when it comes to women. One of the most famous gliders of all time, Amy Johnson, made many of her flights from the top of the Long Mynd.

One of these days perhaps Victoria Beckham will join their ranks. It’s certainly a glamorous sight in the sky with the right kind of sophisticated style.

* More women members are needed! Contact 01588 650206.