Red Arrows fly over Dorset: where to watch

If you have not already made plans for the afternoon, there is a reason to head east along the coast today. The Red Arrows are scheduled to fly over Dorset as part of the Sidmouth Regatta Airshow, with the display set for 15:00 over Lyme Bay, running parallel to the Sidmouth seafront. As with any flypast, it remains subject to weather, aircraft availability and operational requirements, so it is worth keeping an eye on the skies rather than banking on a fixed slot.

For the best view, the Sidmouth Esplanade is the obvious place to stand, but the display is visible from a fair stretch of the coast: Jacobs Ladder beach, Port Royal, Connaught Gardens, Peak Hill and Salcombe Hill all give you a good look. The Esplanade fills up quickly, so the advice is to be in place before 14:00 if you want a decent spot. If you are driving in, parking is set up at Sidmouth Cricket Club at £12 from 10:00, Sidmouth Rugby Club at £12 from 09:00 and Knowle Arena at £10 from midday.

It is worth a bit of travel, especially after the disappointment earlier this month. A separate Red Arrows flyover was due over Lyme Regis at 11:30 on Sunday 16 August as part of Lyme Regis Lifeboat Week, but it was cancelled because the team was delayed returning from their North America tour by bad weather over northeastern Canada. The Lifeboat Week itself carried on regardless, with RNLI fundraising, family activities and entertainment, and the rest of the week filled in with other flights: two privately owned Supermarine Spitfires at 18:00 on Wednesday 19 August, and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypasts on the 21st and 22nd, with aircraft and times to be confirmed.

For anyone who has never seen them up close, the Red Arrows are the Royal Air Force aerobatic display team, based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. In 2026 they fly seven aircraft, Reds 1 to 7, with Reds 8 and 9 brought in for selected flypasts. The team is split into Enid, Reds 1 to 5, and Hanna, Reds 6 to 9, which includes the Synchro Pair, while Red 10 acts as Supervisor. They fly the BAE Systems Hawk T1 and train from October or November through Exercise Springhawk in March and April. The team runs to 11 pilots and 100 engineering and support personnel, led by Wing Commander Jon Bond with Squadron Leader Stuart Roberts as Display Supervisor.

Today is only the start of the Sidmouth Regatta Airshow, which runs through to Monday 31 August. The programme opens at 15:00 with the Road Arrows, Navy Wings, AeroSuperBatics Wing Walkers, Rich Goodwin in the Jet Pitts Muscle Plane and the Stampe Display Team. There are fireworks scheduled for 21:15 on Saturday 29 August over the seafront around Port Royal, and Stuart Line Cruises runs a special airshow cruise from Exmouth Marina, with tickets from £25 a person. If you can make the trip, the 15:00 flypast is the headline act to catch it around.