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By Kirsty, November 16, 2011 10:55 am

Well, Alex’s challenge to do 50 First Times in Five Days for Virgin Unite leading up to the Virgin Social Marathon today (16th November) is certainly allowing him to develop his skills!

His next 10 #FirstTimes have included ballroom dancing, a Zumba class, flower arranging, knitting, having his legs waxed, a facial, a spray tan, working in a call centre, attending a fitness class and a work out at an outdoor gym! Follow his progress on Twitter @alexrferg @virginballoons

See the latest pics below:

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By Eve, October 27, 2011 1:05 pm

Internet entrepreneur Jeanie and colleague Jackie were whisked high above the skies of Kent on their Wadhurst flight last month with pilot Damon Bridger.

Famous for her bright pink hairdo and savvy shopper website Mad About Bargains, Jeanie was originally scheduled to launch from the spectacular Bristol International Balloon Fiesta along with Jackie back in June after winning a competition hosted by Virgin Balloon Flights.  With gusty winds proving challenging for all pilots that day their original flight had to wait, not long though and within a matter of weeks they were experiencing what it is like to see beautiful Britain from above in a Virgin hot air balloon. We asked Jeanie what she made of her balloon ride and if geography and company were no object, where and with whom she would most like to fly:-

“It has been on my bucket list for some time and I enjoyed every minute.

I would love to do a balloon flight over somewhere really spectacular like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls (if possible) and I think the most interesting person to do the flight with would of course be Sir Richard Branson (and I am not just saying that). I have run various businesses since I was very young and I think he is a fascinating person.

Thank you again for the fantastic prize. It is something we will both always remember.”

– Jeanie, Founder, Mad About Bargains

After landing and enjoying the traditional Champagne toast that accompanies all of our flights, Jackie said:

“We had the most amazing experience and would like to thank you and everyone at Virgin Balloons again! We loved the Champagne, the whole experience was really lovely, they made everyone feel special.” – Jackie, Mad About Bargains

To see for yourself what a ballooning experience is all about visit our brand new Experience page to see videos, experience a 360° virtual tour from the air, view our gallery, read our pilot profiles and to read some of our passenger testimonials.

To enjoy a hot air balloon ride from just £89 from Kent or any other county within the UK visit our locations page to see which launch sites are available near you.

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By Kirsty, October 11, 2011 1:48 pm

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

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By Alex, September 1, 2011 2:00 pm

Congratulations to our chief pilot and director Kenneth Karlstrom who won the prize for top pilot at the famous Lorraine Mondial Air Balloons event held near Metz, France, in late July.

The experienced Swedish flyer beat 120 other pilots by scoring more points in the competition to drop markers onto targets or ‘goals’ on the ground, which required some real precision flying.

After an excellent display in his light and nimble Virgin ‘77’ balloon, Kenneth picked up an impressive glass trophy and a massive bottle of Champagne.

The event also broke the world record for the largest line-up of inflated balloons with 343 in a row all at once leading to a spectacular mass launch.

Kenneth said he was delighted with the victory and thoroughly enjoyed the event.

Join Virgin Balloon Flights for a hot air balloon ride over Britain

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By Eve, August 19, 2011 5:38 pm

Jeanie and Jackie from Mad About Bargains enjoyed a Sunday afternoon out of the ordinary at this year’s Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. Over a quarter of a million people turned up on the Saturday evening to witness the spectacular ‘night glow’ and over half a million visitors 
attended overall!

After winning a competition the pair joined Virgin Balloon Flights at the event and as well a watching a breath-taking aerial display from the Red Arrows also got to meet our very own pilot ‘Nobby’ who flies from Ashton Court in Bristol regularly and explained how he became the UK’s youngest hot air balloon pilot at aged 19 back in… ooh we really couldn’t say. This year’s free Fiesta was the 33^rd annual event of its kind and the 34^th has already been scheduled for the 9^th – 12^th August for

next year!

With tons of entertainment from fairground rides to daredevil motorcycle stuntmen and women jumping over flaming hay bales, parachutists leaping from helicopters and of course amazing airborne antics from over 100 beautiful hot air balloons this really is an event like no other.

To celebrate 40 years of balloon making, Bristol based Cameron Balloons undertook the impressive challenge of building a hot air balloon during the duration of the Fiesta; 4 days! We thought this was an incredible achievement and what a lovely balloon it was too – we were there to see it being inflated for the very first time.

To fly from Ashton Court in Bristol with Virgin Balloon Flights or any of our 100+ launch sites throughout the UK visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk or call 01952 212 750.

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By Kirsty, August 15, 2011 3:58 pm

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.

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By Eve, August 13, 2011 6:00 am

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!

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By Kirsty, August 2, 2011 11:27 am

Virgin Balloon Flights have been supporting our friends at Virgin Media, who have raised a whopping £5,137 through a national staff raffle as part of their Charity Day on 20th July.

The raffle was a major element of Virgin Media’s first ever Charity Day and caused a lot of interest with generous prizes donated by us Virgin Balloon Flights, V Festival and Virgin Money. We sent off a pair of Champagne balloon flights to medias cause worth over £300! The national flight vouchers means the lucky winner can use them at anyone of our 100+ launch sites in England, Scotland & Wales and enjoy a glass of bubbles and receive a personalised flight certificate signed by their pilot post flight.

As well as the raffle, activities ran across 60 sites across the UK and 7 abroad, involving over 12,000 staff as well as partners, customers and members of the public. Initiatives ranged from Hawaiian fancy dress to hula hooping competitions to sponge-soaking of senior staff! The total for all activity across the day exceeded £45,000.

Local staff elections were held across the different sites to decide which charities were supported by the activity. There will be over 90 charities benefiting from the total sum of money … WELL DONE VIRGIN MEDIA!

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By Kirsty, June 7, 2011 1:02 pm

Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!

The world’s biggest triathlon will be swooping back into London during the height of the British summer. On Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st July, this iconic event features more than 13,000 competitors swimming, cycling and running around the ExCeL Centre and Royal Victoria Docks.

To kick start the training Virgin Active gym’s across the country held an indoor TRYathalon day enabling triathletes and non-triathletes to compete against themselves for super-duper prizes and have some fun along the way! Of course Virgin Balloon Flights were supporting the event with our lovely flights as one of the prizes.

Congratulations to the lucky winners: