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By Kirsty, July 16, 2010 9:36 am

Yorkshire balloon pilot Dave Sutcliffe was bowled over last week as England cricketer Tim Bresnan took to the skies with him, just a day after beating Bangladesh in the one-day series.

Tim Bresnan and Hannah 3000 feet up!

The top Yorkshire and England bowler, 25, bought Virgin Balloon Flight vouchers as a surprise gift for girlfriend Hannah’s birthday.

“We’re both quite adventurous, and I wanted to think of something unusual to celebrate Hannah’s birthday. Neither of us had flown in a hot air balloon before so I bought the tickets and told Hannah the night before the flight,” said Tim, who is originally from Pontefract in West Yorkshire.

“I was quite nervous, but it’s actually very surreal when you’re up there, it’s a weird sensation and we really enjoyed it! We got to see horses, hares, deer and even a windmill,” he added.

Pilot Dave, 43, said: “It took me a while to realise where I knew Tim from, then I realised who he was when completing the passenger safety briefing. It was only the day before I was watching him help win the series against Bangladesh at Edgbaston.”

“All the passengers sang happy birthday to Tim’s girlfriend Hannah at 2,500 feet in the air. It was a great flight topped off with a Champagne toast after landing in Church Fenton.”

After England’s win, Tim will enjoy a week’s break before getting back on the pitch and a Virgin Balloon Flight was the perfect way to start his week off.

More information regarding Virgin Balloon Flights in Yorkshire is available here.

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By Kirsty, July 8, 2010 8:55 am

A Yorkshire balloon pilot got a spectacular first glimpse of this year’s York Maze as he took to the skies with a basket full of passengers who got exclusive snaps of the Battle of Britain inspired attraction.

Martin Collinson, from York, flies for Virgin Balloon Flights and launched from the city’s Racecourse flying east when they drifted over the commemorative maze last week.

Martin, who has been an employment officer for the Territorial Army for 25 years, said: “It is great to see people remembering the armed forces. The design is fantastic and the passengers really enjoyed it.”

The larger than life Spitfire design, which covers an area larger than 15 Wembley football pitches and consists of 1.5 million maize plants, is “a tribute to the servicemen of the country” according to maze owner Tom Pearcy.

“Each year we choose a topical event to motivate our designs and the 70^th anniversary of the Battle of Britain seemed perfectly fitting for 2010,” he added.

Balloon passenger Craig Mitchell, of North Yorkshire, said: “We flew with Virgin for my girlfriend’s birthday and were not expecting to get an exclusive view. We were so impressed with the maze design. Both my Grandparents were in the war, so it’s nice to see people recognising their efforts.”

Pilot Martin,43, flies champagne balloon flights from numerous launch sites in Yorkshire and hopes to thrill many more passengers with the Maze throughout the summer with the attraction open from July 17 until the September 5.

Find out more at www.yorkmaze.com or take a flight with Virgin Balloon Flights at www.virginballoonflights.co.uk

York Maze Spitfire design 2010

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By Kirsty, April 26, 2010 4:36 pm

Since the Icelandic volcano ‘Eyjafjallajokull’ erupted and paralysed air travel for all but hot air balloons, we have soared into the spotlight by keeping our Virgin balloons airborne and lucky passengers happy!

Sadly our planned rescue mission to fly some stranded Brits back over the Channel was thwarted as the wind was in the wrong direction. But, as everything else was grounded, our big red balloons got even more attention than usual. The British media were particularly interested with one of our balloons in Scotland being pictured in the press, our midlands balloon pilot Lindsay Muir  appearing on BBC Radio and ITV jumping onboard to film from the basket too.

The team from ITV Tyne Tees News took to the skies with us last Wednesday from scenic launch site Witton Castle in Bishop Auckland for a bird’s eye view of the North East with pilot Dave ‘Sutty’ Sutcliffe  .

Without an aeroplane or even a vapour trail in sight, reporter Johnny Blair described his balloon ride adventure with Virgin as “calm, tranquil and spectacular.” Whilst passengers of the same flight were “thrilled to fly” after worries the volcanic ash may halt or hinder their experience of a lifetime.

You can watch our north east balloon flight  with ITV Tyne Tees News and see just how green the region is.

Camera-man Sean Reilly films pilot Dave sutcliffe giving passengers a safety briefing on the ground

The ITV camera captures some 'spectacular' view's from the basket!

Although it has been lovely to have the skies to ourselves, thankfully the volcanic ash is now dispersing, its column inches diminishing and travellers are finally returning to their homes and families. We’re particularly pleased to see the planes of our friends at Virgin Atlantic back in the air. We wish everyone who is still stranded abroad a safe and speedy trip home soon.