When the Mach Loop is quiet or crowded, LFA 10 in the Yorkshire Dales offers the same syllabus over different hills. Buttertubs Pass between Wensleydale and Swaledale is the classic vantage — Typhoons and Hawks transit the gap on weekday low-level sorties.
The Dales are less photographed than Snowdonia, which suits spotters who prefer empty moorland to packed Welsh hillsides. Ingleborough and the Three Peaks country add backup vantage points on a multi-day trip.
Weekdays, clear weather, mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Same rules as every LFA: no timetable, check ADSB-Exchange before you travel.
Buttertubs Pass is a single-track road — park in the lay-bys, not on the pass itself. Sheep, weather and military jets all demand respect.
Get there
Pin marks Buttertubs Pass — the classic LFA 10 choke point between Wensleydale and Swaledale.
Approx. 54.312, -2.203 · North Yorkshire
Google Maps directions →Film · Real sorties
Typhoons — valley passes
Typhoon cockpit — low level
Nearby museums
Common questions
Is Yorkshire Dales as good as the Mach Loop?
Same training syllabus, different scenery. LFA 10 sees fewer spotters — which can mean fewer aircraft too, but also empty hills when Wales is packed.
Where is Buttertubs Pass?
Between Hawes in Wensleydale and Thwaite in Swaledale — search "Buttertubs Pass" for the lay-by parking. The pass itself is a single-track road.