Young kite fliers reach for the skies (From Western Telegraph)

Young kite fliers reach for the skies

Despite a wet and windy start, Pembrokeshires first Sky Festival eventually soared to success in the sunshine.

The event was held at Carew Airfield, which over 50 years ago was a hive of wartime activity.

Today, only the old control tower remains, currently being renovated by the Carew Historical Society. And the building, with its display of Second World War memorabilia, was at the heart of the two-day festival - providing very welcome shelter from the torrential rain which dogged the first few hours.

But with the rain came plenty of wind, to offer ideal lift-off conditions to the enthusiasts who brought along their own colourful kites and the youngsters who were delighted to find that a little ingenuity, some black plastic and 200 feet of string attached to a beer can could make them an airborne creation.

The skies, which began to clear late on Saturday afternoon, brightened for Sunday and the festival welcomed large numbers of visitors.

In the kite-making workshops, Steve Walton, Jay Turner and Ken Knight were kept busy non-stop as they helped young fliers craft their own kites. And at one stage, over 45 different kites were aloft in the sky above the festival, with some visible from over two miles away.

The festival was organised by the Carew Historical Society with support from SPARC, whose community enterprise officer, Rachel Gibby, said:

After the weather cleared up, the event turned out to be a fantastic success and a real family day out. We certainly hope to hold another similar festival next year, and we are very grateful to all our sponsors and supporters for the help they have given us.

Among visitors to the festival were a family all the way from China, with their youngest member, Katrina, bringing her own kite along to win the furthest travelled prize. The Western Telegraph prize for a newspaper kite that flew the longest was won by Jamie Bell, who kept her paper kite aloft for three hours and 40 minutes. Winning the prize for the most unusual kite was Jordan ONeill, and he also won first place in the kite-designing contest for Carew Youth Club members.

CAPTION: The newspaper that flies for Pembrokeshire: Kite-making from copies of the Western Telegraph was one of the features of the festival. Here, kite enthusiast Jay Turner, of Templeton, is pictured with Adam Jenkins, aged ten, of Pisgah and Cresselly youngsters Lucy Neale, aged 11 and Evan Neale, aged ten. PICTURE: Western Telegraph.