A highly popular aviation display is returning to Windermere this September in a partnership between a spa hotel resort and the flight crew of the historic seaplane, Waterbird.
Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa will be the take-off station for the renowned seaplane, an exact replica of the prototype which first flew from Windermere in 1911.
Subject to weather conditions, the seaplane’s demonstration flights will take place on the evenings of 4 and 5 September 2026.
In preparation for the ‘Wings over Windermere’ flight displays, Waterbird will taxi along the shoreline to the spa resort waterfront. The aircraft will then take off from the water in front of spectators on Low Wood Bay’s lawns and fly at heights of up to 100 feet.
Displays begin at 6:45pm on both evenings, with the bonus of a flypast by an aircraft of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight scheduled to take place between 5:15pm and 5:45pm on 4 September. There will also be a flypast from another seaplane, the Aviat Husky, and the displays will benefit from a professional commentator.
After each display, spectators and aviation enthusiasts can meet the Waterbird pilot, chief engineer, flying display director and event organiser to chat with them about the seaplane project in the conference centre at Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa.
This year's Waterbird pilot is Lieutenant Commander Chris Gotke, a serving Royal Navy pilot and graduate of the Empire Test Pilots' School at Boscombe Down, where he leads fixed-wing operations.
English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues managing director Ben Berry says:
“Seaplanes are a big part of Windermere’s heritage and my late grandfather Michael Berry OBE had a passion for the Short Sunderland flying boats. He even went as far as fitting out a boat of his own with sonar equipment in a bid to track down the wreckage of the Sunderland aircraft scuttled on the lake at the end of World War II."
“He was also involved in a campaign to establish commercial seaplane operations from the lake to boost tourism."
“I know he would have taken immense pride in seeing Waterbird flying in front of the resort and our overall support for the project. That’s just one reason the team and I at Low Wood Bay are so proud to be supporting the Windermere Waterbird flying displays with our event hospitality, lakeside accommodation, conference facilities and safety boat cover from our watersports activity centre.”
Chairman of the Lakes Flying Company Ltd Ian Gee added:
“Having stayed at the spa resort last year, we got into talks with English Lakes Hotels about the potential for making the lawns of Low Wood Bay the main vantage point for this year’s flight demonstrations."
“We’re looking forward to these flight displays with a great deal of excitement and anticipation, especially in light of the venue’s historic interests in seaplane aviation and of course the Berry family’s connections with water speed records.”
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Low Wood Bay was at the centre of ambitious proposals to introduce seaplane services on Windermere Michael Berry OBE was involved in a campaign to establish commercial operations from the lake.
A Tiger Moth seaplane landed at the hotel’s waterfront in 1979 and a four-seat Cessna also made a visit in 1983. But the plans for a ‘water taxi’ service connecting Windermere with regional airports, alongside scenic leisure flights over the Lake District, never took off.
Waterbird’s flights on Windermere involve extensive planning, including consultation with the Lake District National Park Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority to attain flight permissions and licences.
