Take on kite-flying with Tessa Wardley in her new guide The Countryside Book. She tells us how to make your own kite, and where in Surrey to fly it
Everyone loves kite-flying, but it’s even more satisfying to make and launch your own creation.
Here’s how:
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Step 1: Cut a diamond shape 1m long and 1m wide from a heavy-duty binbag, crossing at 25cm from one end.
Step 2: Cut two 1m lengths of 5mm dowel and join them to the plastic with duct tape at each corner of the diamond.
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Step 3: Where the dowels cross in the middle, make two small holes in the plastic. Push a 10m length of string through one hole and back through the other; tie around the dowels.
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Step 4: Cut strips of plastic from the remains of the binbag to make a tail – about 5cm wide and five times longer than the kite (in this case 5m long). Tie to the base of the dowel.
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Step 5: To launch: stand with your back to the wind, get someone to hold the kite at chest height and keeping the string taut, step back into the breeze as the kite is released.
Step 1: Cut a diamond shape 1m long and 1m wide from a heavy-duty binbag, crossing at 25cm from one end.
Step 2: Cut two 1m lengths of 5mm dowel and join them to the plastic with duct tape at each corner of the diamond.
Step 3: Where the dowels cross in the middle, make two small holes in the plastic. Push a 10m length of string through one hole and back through the other; tie around the dowels.
Step 4: Cut strips of plastic from the remains of the binbag to make a tail – about 5cm wide and five times longer than the kite (in this case 5m long). Tie to the base of the dowel.
Step 5: To launch: stand with your back to the wind, get someone to hold the kite at chest height and keeping the string taut, step back into the breeze as the kite is released.
Fly a kite at Reigate Hill, Richmond Park, Newlands Corner, Ham Gate and Guildford
Read an excerpt of The Countryside Book
