Threshing the mown hay, with gliders

I was driving on the top of the Cotswold escarpment where the land is predominantly flat except where springs have begun to form combes and to create the classic valleys of the Stroud area. As I was approaching the extensive lands around Lypiatt Park, through an open farm gate in the stonewall I noticed a farmer threshing the field. More importantly I also saw a red kite circling high above and realised it was probably on the lookout for any small animals that had been disturbed by the disappearance of the cover in  their habitat.

I pulled in to the side of the road, a fairly minor B road, but one linking important old centres and which had the ancient Stancombe stone cross on the wide verge a few hundred yards from the gate. I walked to the entrance to the field and tried to see where te red kite had gone to. As I waited for it to hopefully reappear I watched the farmer going backwards and forwards up and down the slope of the hillside.

I kept staring up into the bright sky which had high scudding clouds, and realised there was a glider circling much higher up. then the red kite re=appeared close to me, but it was difficult to focus against the sky.  It flew further away again so I decided to focus on the glider, and to my surprise I counted eight of them circling relatively close together. I assume they were racing. We have two quite important gliding clubs located at different small grassy airfields in the vicinity of Stroud, which were formerly airfields where 2nd World War squadrons of fighters were based to defend the area strategic resources, which included Bristol, Gloucester and some manufacturing sites of war equipment.

I’m posting all three images with the rather poorer red kite and glider images as ‘Extras’. Can you see all eight gliders?