With only one more shopping weekend left before Christmas don’t let your stockings be sad!

For just £89 you can give one of the most unforgettable and unique Christmas presents around – a hot air balloon ride from the largest passenger carrying balloon company in the world! We’ll even throw in a gorgeous box of chocs FREE with our national vouchers!

Watch their face light up when they realise that they’ve been given a Champagne balloon ride experience.

With over 100 launch sites to choose from all over England, Scotland and Wales they’ll be spoilt for choice as to where to start their airborne adventure.

Left it late? Doesn’t matter – you can get our balloon ride vouchers instantly with our Email Vouchers right up until the very last minute.

You can make this amazing gift even more spectacular by adding a bottle of Champers or a Champagne flute too from our gorgeous Gifts.

Save up to 40% on Regional Vouchers – buy from £89

FREE Chocolates with National Vouchers

Gorgeous Gifts from £5

See Christmas Delivery options

See what the experience is like

See our flight locations

Happy Christmas!

The number of hot air ballooning photos shared with us this season was higher than ever.  Not only did we see lots and lots but the standard and quality of those images was fantastic too.  So a huge thank you to everyone who shared their amazing images with us!

Receiving a massive 21.5% of overall votes to secure pole position in the Virgin Balloon Flights Annual Photo Competition 2011 was the breath-takingly atmospheric image taken over Longstanton in Cambridgeshire by Sam Tolley.

Sam Tolley's winning image: 1-10 Misty Morning

‘Misty Morning’ also won best in category securing a huge 29.4% of all the votes in Category 1 – Views from the Basket. Well done Sam; you’ve won a £125 Virgin Experience Days Gift Card for your category and overall win!

Sam shared ‘Misty Morning’ with us on the Virgin Balloon Flights Facebook page on 15th October 2011 and we thought it was pretty amazing back then – looks like we weren’t the only ones to think so.

The photo was taken on a morning flight departing from our Cambridge Golf Club (Longstanton) launch site as Sam was looking in an easterly direction whilst about a third of the way through his flight.

You can purchase a flight voucher to fly from Longstanton and appreciate these amazing views that Sam so spectacularly captured, from as little as £89! You can even receive 20% off a round of golf on us!

Runner Up Winners

Huge congratulations also go to our category winners who each win a £25 Virgin Experience Days Gift Card!

Category 1 – Views from the Basket Winner = Misty Morning by Sam Tolley

Category 2 – People and Balloons Winner = Inside the Balloon by John Wells

2-2 Inside the Balloon by John Wells

Category 3 – Images of Balloons Winner = In Essex by Danyelle Motley

3-3 In Essex by Danyelle Motley

Category 4 – The Mechanics of Ballooning Winner = Inflating the Balloon by Helen Lehan

4-3 Inflating the Balloon by Helen Lehan

Each flying season (March – November) we hold a Photo Competition so if you have any ballooning images (of Virgin balloons) that you would like to share, you can find out more here.

Well done to everyone who took part this season and we very much look forward to next year’s competition submissions.

To find out more about hot air ballooning with Virgin Balloon Flights including what to look forward to on the day of your flight visit our website virginballoonflights.co.uk.

53 year old Richard Shaw of Batley, West Yorkshire took to the skies recently in his Dudek (Polish) Reaction, a 31 square metre reflex paramotoring wing, and met one of our lovely Virgin hot air balloons up there!

The father of four, who has been paragliding/paramotoring since 2003, took off from a farmer’s field in Snaith near Selby with three other pilots before seeing us in the sky. Richard has already flown in a balloon with us from York so has seen the beauty of ballooning from two wonderful different viewpoints.

Recently becoming semi-retired from his role as an electronics engineer Richard has spent all his time and efforts organising the British Paramotoring Championships and has this year taken on the job of team leader to the British Squad for International and World Championships abroad.

Speaking of his encounter with Virgin Balloon Flights over the Yorkshire landscape Richard said ‘I’m just interested in all things that fly!’, how could he pass on an opportunity to take these fabulous snaps?

You too can take to the skies with Virgin Balloon Flights from York or any other of our 100+ launch sites, for further details please visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk or call us on 0844 8448070.

One of our lovely Staffordshire launch sites Amerton Farm & Craft Centre, has a brand new addition to their farmyard family! Following the noise down into the farm, you’ll meet Marge the donkey.

Marge was born a year ago in Fradswell and she has moved to Amerton Farm to join the ponies and other animals in the farmyard. She has a lovely nature and is loving the attention she is getting.

Moyra McLaughlin, manager of Amerton Farm, said: “We always enjoy having new animals in the farmyard and to have a donkey like Marge is even more of an event. We hope visitors old and new will come along and visit her, she will definitely put a smile on your face! We are hoping that children will be able to enjoy a donkey ride during the school holidays next year.”

For further information regarding flights from Amerton Farm with Virgin Balloon Flights simply visit the launch site online or call Virgin Balloon Flights on 0844 844 8070.

Photo Marge aged 1 and 9 year old Elian Lawty

Entrepreneur Marcus Shaw from just outside Eye, Suffolk, spent the end of last month with his camera pointed at one of our lovely red balloons in Cornwallis.

The balloon ride passengers, Marcus’ mother-in-law Judy, and husband Steve, were celebrating Steve’s 50^th birthday. Due to weather cancellations, the celebrations were somewhat delayed, but of course most definitely worth the wait.

“The flight took place in Norfolk on a beautiful Friday morning  (30th September). They really could not have had a better day, the weather was perfect! The light was fantastic for photography; there was even some low lying mist which made it even more magical. The preparations and getting ready started at 7am with take-off about 8am, about an hour later the balloon landed in a field just outside the town of Wymondham,” said Marcus.

Marcus, married to Natalie and father to three girls, took the plunge just 12 months ago to turn his keen interest in  photography into a professional service at affordable prices specialising in Portrait and Wedding Photography.

The full series of balloon flight photographs can be seen at www.marcusshawphotography.co.uk on Marcus’ blog. You can also follow Marcus’ ventures on his Facebook and Twitter pages.

You too can experience an airborne experience with Virgin Balloon Flights from Cornwallis or any other of our 100+ launch sites in England, Scotland & Wales. Simply call 0844  844 8070 or visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk

Customer Service is always number one in the Virgin Balloon Flights office however this week it is even more in the spotlight as we celebrate National Customer Service Week 2011.

This week typically gives everyone in the office a chance to think about how they achieve customer service excellence in everything they do both today and tomorrow.

Working as a team is always vital here at Virgin Balloon Flights and Customer Service Week gives each individual a chance to pass on ideas and learning through various activities, challenges and group activities aimed at enhancing teamwork, collaboration and communication.

This year our team have been busy doing quizzes that get them thinking outside the box, building bridges in a team, creating various challenges for each other and things for a bit of fun like ‘Pyjama Day’ where one ‘lucky’ customer service representative was given the challenge of visiting a local garage to enquire about purchasing a vehicle, in her pyjamas – to see if what a customer is wearing affects what level of service is given, well it got a few smiles anyway which is always good in our book!

National Customer Service Week 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Our customer service representatives handle all hot air balloon ride bookings for every single one of our 100+ launch sites throughout the UK – we are based in Shropshire which is nice and central as our launch sites are spread right from Scotland down to Cornwall and everywhere in between.

With the launch of our brand new website www.virginballoonflights.co.uk on October 1st 2011 Customer Service Week couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time as there has been lots to communicate to customers about the many improvements our new system brings.

If you’d like to talk to our friendly customer service team about an existing Virgin Balloon Flight or to enquire about becoming an airborne adventurer just give us a call or visit our new website.

Virgin Balloon Flights are supporting an up and coming charity youth centre aimed at young adults in memory  of local 21 year old Danny Reynolds.

Sadly Danny lost his life as a passenger in a car accident last November, when the young driver was above the legal alcohol limit. Danny’s mother Di, has since set the wheels in motion to start the Danny Reynolds centre in Stafford that will be aimed at young adults aged 13-25. The centre will include the following facilities:

A free gym facility with a personal trainer to include self-defence classes by a qualified instructor.

A drop in centre – providing advice and signposting for benefits, education, training , voluntary work and housing advice.

Chill out zone – to give young people alternative options to alcohol, pubs, clubs and drugs, anti-social behaviour and links to crime.

Training Days – drugs awareness, alcohol awareness, speed awareness, independent living skills, sexual health awareness and any further accreditation training from external agencies.

A free childcare facility – aimed to provide young parents in this age group with a facility that is free including the socially deprived to enable them to access centre facilities.

Youth church – aimed to be run by young people in this age group to include them in local communities and provide them with pastoral care.

Quiet Room – a safe environment for young people to access after bereavement, which will include free usage for external agencies to use for counselling in all areas including unemployment and financial issues.

On the 28^th October, a Reggae night will be held at The Westway pub in Stafford to start raising funds for the centre; this will be where supporters get the chance to bag a pair of Virgin Balloon Flights which can be used at any of our 100+ launch sites in England, Scotland and Wales.

For further information on how to support this cause please email Di Reynolds on reynol509@aol.com. For information regarding balloon flights visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk .

Joe Churcher, 39, from London, was on route to catch a train home on Friday evening when this spectacular sight caught his eye, a Virgin hot air balloon.

“I was alerted, by a crowd of
animatedly pointing tourists stood
outside a shop, to  the presence of an aerial attraction. Looking up to see the balloon making its majestic way over Oxford’s spires, I reached for my camera and took some shots of its voyage using Oxford Castle as the foreground. As it disappeared behind the battlements I was about to head off to the station when it occurred to me that it was about to reappear between the crenellations so I hung on and snapped it,” said Joe.

Joe, who works as a political journalist, enjoyed his very own airborne adventure a few years ago with his father. Whilst gliding above the Hampshire countryside, Joe also snapped this picture below.

“The contrasts of immense peace
and intense burner noise, the views, the  nervous excitement at being able to see exactly what it is that’s holding you in the air. On the flight I took a bird’s eye view of the Hampshire farm we had recently discovered had been worked by our ancestors – as well as Roman Abramovich’s half-constructed mansion!”

For further information about flying from Oxford please visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk or call 01952 212750.

Last week we blogged about our Warwickshire launch site Stratford–upon-Avon and the splendid scenery from the launch field of Stratford Racecourse.

As if by magic, our lovely pilot Des Bimson flew from the racecourse and caught the beauty of the bird’s eye view on his camera just days later. We couldn’t miss the opportunity to share these scenic snaps with you.

Des also shared with us his in-flight photographs from an Eastnor Castle launch this week too. This spectacular launch site sits at the foot of the Malverns (a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in the historic town of Ledbury, Herefordshire.

You too can fly from Stratford Racecourse or Eastnor Castle from as little as £119 per person. Simply call or visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk.

Our friends at Mad About Bargains are looking forward to a hot air ballooning extravaganza at this year’s 4-day Bristol International Balloon Fiesta after winning a Virgin Balloon Flights competition.

The balloon enthusiast’s dream opened its gates at midday on Thursday 11^th August 2011 and promises a wealth of fabulous ballooning events from mass balloon launches to the famous night glows to an exhilarating display from the spectacular Red Arrows.

Following in the footsteps of the UK’s Queen of Soul Beverley Knight who took to the skies in our balloon on the second day of the Fiesta to perform an aerial rendition of her latest track ‘Cuddly Toy’, Jeanie and Jackie from the popular family-run site are scheduled to launch into the skies above beautiful Ashton Court in Bristol in Sunday evening’s mass balloon ascent.

Friday morning saw 63 balloons simultaneously ascend and similarly Sunday’s flight promises to be a rainbow of colour and a truly unforgettable balloon ride for the bargain savvy pair.

We’re really looking forward to the flight and can’t wait to see the pink hairdo for real.

Cheers ladies!