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By Kirsty, April 8, 2013 9:59 am

It’s not uncommon to celebrate a birthday with balloons, but Jessica Bill celebrated her 24^th aboard a 100 foot tall hot air balloon floating 3000 feet up in the sky.

Jess and boyfriend of two years, Nick Crosby, 29, from Gamston, took to the skies from Stoke Rochford Hall, in Grantham, Lincolnshire, in an iconic red Virgin balloon last week.

The sunrise voyage marked the achievement of a lifetime ambition for the couple, who bought the balloon ride vouchers for their first anniversary.

“We’ve both always wanted to go on a balloon flight. Everyone was great and really looked after us and, even though we met up at 6am on a freezing cold morning, they we really upbeat and fun. When we told them it was Jess’ birthday they all started singing happy birthday to her, the rest of the passengers joined in too,” said Nick.

Jess added: “My favourite bit was the views, they were amazing and something I’ll never forget. The champagne toast after we landed was great too.”

Travelling around eight miles to the east during the hour-long flight, the balloon landed land near Belvoir Castle before experienced pilot Martin Collinson presented Jess and Nick with their personalised flight certificates.

Martin, 46 from Grantham said “It was great to have Jessica and Nick on board, there’s something special about singing happy birthday in the open air over the countryside, it’s magical! After the snow we’ve had, a beautiful clear balloon ride was a special way to celebrate her day; I’m delighted they enjoyed it.”

The couple, who are due to be married in August next year, said they were now keen to experience another balloon ride as part of their honeymoon.

Balloon flights are available from sites across the UK including Nottingham from £99pp via www.virginballoonflights.co.uk or on 0844 844 8080.

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By Kirsty, March 22, 2013 4:25 pm

Our hot air balloon flights over the Kentish countryside are extremely popular and ballooning over Kent gives you a totally unique perspective of the beautiful southern landscape from the sky. We’re proud to present yet another new launch site for the 2013 flying season here at Virgin Balloon Flights; Oakwood House, Maidstone.

Oakwood House, a beautiful 19^th Century Victorian mansion is directly adjacent to the launch site and sets the scene for those wanting to escape to the skies on an airborne adventure in one of our iconic red hot air balloons in the south east of England.

As you rise from the grounds of Oakwood Park, pilot Damon Bridger will point out your surroundings while you glide above the landscape taking in the greenery, villages and towns below.

Sue Rackliffe, Sales Manager at Oakwood House said “We are thrilled that Virgin Balloons have chosen the parkland here as their latest launch site and we look forward to welcoming those who will be enjoying this amazing experience”

 

What’s more, post flight you can re-call your ballooning exploration over lunch, afternoon tea or a delicious dinner in the conservatory style Courtyard Bar – perfect!

If you’d like to join us on a Virgin Balloon Flight in Kent from just £79pp simply visit our website or give us a call on 0844 8448070.

See you in the sky.

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By Kirsty, March 19, 2013 2:15 pm

Spring has sprung and we hereby announce another lovely launch site in the ‘Garden of England’ for Virgin Balloon Flights!

Pilot Damon Bridger will soon be whisking passengers away from the the city of Canterbury at St John’s Church of England Primary School, Northgate.

Added to our impressive list of Kent launch sites just this morning, Canterbury boast sights which are just as special as the rest. There’s so much to enjoy below the basket of your hot air balloon over this gorgeous Cathedral City, but what would you most like to see; the city walls and gates, St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury Castle, the River Stour or Kings School?

Whatever you spot from the basket, be sure to take your camera and capture this totally unique perspective of the Kentish countryside. You’ll experience around an hour’s flight, a Champagne toast and receive a certificate endorsed by Sir Richard Branson to mark the occasion. The perfect Spring day out.

What’s more, to take a balloon ride over Kent, prices start from just £79pp with regional sunrise flights (weekday morning). Fancy giving the gift of flight? Simply call 0844 8448070 or visit our main website to see all our balloon flight options.

See you in the sky over Canterbury!

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By Kirsty, February 5, 2013 2:30 pm

Each year Virgin Balloon Flights takes a team of pilots, crew and guests out to Mondovi in Piemonte, Italy, for a stable and balloon friendly climate to carry out annual check flights and training for pilots.

This year a group of 38 balloon enthusiasts enjoyed a ten day trip to the centre for ballooning in Italy, which included Chief Pilot and CEO Kenneth Karlstrom and 16 of our Virgin hot air balloon pilots from across the country.

A total of nine flights went ahead over the ten day period where required tests and checks were carried out on the Virgin balloon as well as completing group conversions where experienced pilots are certified to fly bigger hot air balloons.

Kenneth said: “The trip was hard work but we achieved everything that needed to be achieved. Another successful event which meant the opportunity for socialising, eating pizza and drinking good wine!”

Here’s a selection of photographs taken by balloon crew member and annual staff photography competition winner Neil Marshall and a video put together by pilot Richard Prowse.

Mondovi January 2013 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The start of the UK ballooning season will commence in March and we’ll be taking to the skies from over 100 locations across England, Scotland and Wales. Be part of it by calling 0844 8448080 or visiting virginballoonflights.co.uk

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By Kirsty, January 22, 2013 1:58 pm

                                           The view of Doncaster from our Cusworth Hall launch site

We love it when our list of hot air balloon launch sites expands and we’re pleased to announce another addition. The start of 2013’s ballooning season welcomes one of many brand new Virgin Balloon Flights launch sites and this one is set in the grounds of the charming Cusworth Hall in Doncaster.

Hot air balloon flights over Doncaster will give you the opportunity to feast your eyes on familiar local landmarks from a totally new perspective. Cameras at the ready; a likely spot below the basket of your balloon would be Doncaster Racecourse, The River Don or even a distant Keepmoat Stadium for the football fans amongst you.

Cusworth Hall itself is a must see following your Virgin Balloon Flight, the beautifully presented Grade 1 listed Georgian country house offers endless activities including art and craft workshops, performances and exhibitions & woodland to explore as well as the opportunity to discover the restored great kitchen, bake house, still room and laundry. Finish your day off nicely with a brew and a bun in their on-site tea rooms. What more could you want?!

Local Virgin Balloon Flights pilot Chris Oxby of Conisbrough, will be taking passengers to the skies from Cusworth Hall in his iconic red balloon from March onwards, he’d love to see you there;

“I’m really pleased to be piloting balloons from the beautiful Cusworth Hall; I can’t wait to show the people of Yorkshire and beyond what Doncaster looks like from the sky,” said Chris.

Flights from Cusworth Hall start from just £79 per person with regional Yorkshire vouchers, simply visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk or give us a call on 0844 8448070.

        Virgin Balloon Flights Launch Site Cusworth Hall                    Cusworth Hall Parkland; Our New Launch Site 

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By Jade, December 19, 2012 4:54 pm

We are pleased to announce the winner of our 2012 photo competition. This year we’ve had some amazing entries and it’s been extremely difficult to choose the best. Our judge, photographer Nicola Ferguson from Daffodil Waves Photography, used her professional eye to select three very deserving winners.

In third place is Martin Chamberlain. Nicola said: ‘I would hang this picture on my wall. There’s something very haunting about it but in a good way.

In second place is, Gemma Evans. Nicola chose this because she ‘loves the bright colours and the composition.’

And the winner is…

Congratulations Kate Williams! Nicola said: ‘This image makes me want to dream. I love the relaxing feeling it gives.’

All winners will be contacted via facebook, twitter or e-mail depending on how you submitted your entry. Runners up will receive a £50 Virgin Experience Days gift card and the winner will receive £100 Virgin Experience Days gift card.

Congratulations to all three winners and a big thank for all of your entries. We’ve enjoyed every bit of this season and we look forward to doing it all again next year!

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By Jade, November 12, 2012 1:49 pm

Martin Chamberlain joined us for an airborne adventure from  Wadhurst, Kent, and having won the hot air balloon ride over Kent through a photographic competition (sponsored by Canon), it’s no wonder he captured some amazing shots of the views below the basket.

Martin told us about his flight:

We passed over Hever Castle and we also got a good view of the mist over Bewel Water – the largest lake in Kent. For me, the most interesting thing was seeing the mist sitting in the low lying areas and the sun casting long long shadows onto the mist. As a keen photographer, it was also fascinating to get a unique perspective on everyday objects like the horses in the photos which are only distinguishable by their shadows; or the tree viewed from directly above.

We asked Martin if he would like to fly again and he told us,

I would do another flight, but I’d also like to take my wife and son so that they can get the same experience. I thought long and hard about which would be the best location in the UK to do the flight from, but in the end, I went with the closest location to my house. I would definitely do a morning flight again, despite the time I had to get up, and the freezing cold motorbike journey I had down into Kent, it was well worth it for the early morning misty views.

Martin praised pilot Damon Bridger and his crew:

They were very professional, very experienced and very obliging. When I said ‘Could you just turn the balloon around please so I can get a photo of ……!’, he was able to do so. I was absolutely amazed with the landing spot he picked; after flying over miles of open countryside we landed perfectly in a park in the town of Edenbridge. The recovery vehicle turned up a minute later!

If you want to experience a balloon ride over Kent, you can climb on board with us now for as little as £89 or you choose from the other  100 + launch sites across the UK. Simply visit our website or call us in the office on 0844 844 8080.

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By Jade, September 25, 2012 12:46 pm

Huge congratulations are in order for our pilot Lindsay Muir who won the  2nd FAI European Women’s Hot Air Balloon Championinship at the weekend.

The competition was held in Frankenthal, Germany, from 18th – 22nd September and Lindsay – the only British representative out of 25 competitors – fought hard in G-LOKI, her Ultramagic M77 balloon, to secure 13952 points in total, a comfortable 700 points ahead of runner-up Daiva Rakauskaite, from Lithuania.

To win Lindsay needed to complete a series of six flights facing challenges such as dropping markers on targets on the ground to score points. This requires a huge amount of skill to anticipate wind speed and direction with very fine control of the balloon’s altitude. She recalled “One of the most challenging tasks required taking the balloon up to 7000ft and then dropping to come down and hit the goal on the ground.”

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By Jade, September 7, 2012 1:52 pm

Jenny Boyer recently celebrated her 60^th birthday in wonderful style, mid-air in one of our hot air balloons over Peterborough after her friends Nicky and Raymond Farnell treated her to the unique experience with the gift of flight.

Nicky accompanied Jenny on their flight on the beautiful evening of 1^st September, perfect timing, just three days before her birthday. The balloon launched from East of England Showground, Peterborough, not far from Jenny’s home in Orton Malborne. When asked about her flight told us,

“I have wanted to go on a flight for as long as I can remember and have often watched one of your balloons go over my house and been very jealous. The flight totally lived up to my expectations and more!! It was WONDERFUL.”

Jenny praised pilot Alan Lusty and his crew for making her experience such a special occasion,

“Alan and his support staff were so lovely and friendly. I felt completely at ease with them as soon as they introduced themselves. Everything was explained so well whilst on the flight, Alan was so knowledgeable – amazing!”

As they floated over Peterborough, friend Nicky looked over her shoulders to spot her house. Jenny recalled,

“As soon as Nicky mentioned it, Alan turned us around so that she could take photos of her house. Little things like that made it so special.”

During the flight, the wind guided them over many familiar sights. Jenny was lucky enough to fly over Thorpe Hall – where she was born, Whittlesey -where she lived for a long time since she was a child and her current house.

When we asked Jenny how she felt after her flight, she said “I so want to go on another flight now!!! My 4-year-old grandson watched us take off and thought it was amazing – now he wants to go up in a balloon.”

Jenny said as well as the balloon flight over Peterborough she was absolutely showered with gifts.

“My cousin in Australia paid for me to fly out for 3 weeks at the end of May, I have been treated to lots of beauty treatments by various members of my family and my children have arranged a party for me on Saturday 8th. I have no idea where it is or anything, just that I need to be dressed up and ready for 7.30pm. I have a houseful of flowers and lovely presents …what a lucky girl I am.”

You too can experience the magic of a balloon flight for as little as £89 and with over 100 launch sites to choose from you’re guaranteed unforgettable sites. Simple visit our website or call us on 0844 844 8080.