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By Jade, August 28, 2012 1:10 pm

One of our recent passengers Margaret Oflaherty, known to family and friends as ‘Pearl’, celebrated her 80^th birthday on board one of our hot air balloons earlier this month. Making the flight even more special, she flew with daughter Cathy Low who was also celebrating her 60^th birthday.

Along with her sisters and brother, Cathy bought Pearl the balloon flight as a memorable experience to commemorate the special occasion of her 80^th birthday. Pearl went to visit Cathy in Yorkshire, giving the perfect opportunity for the pair to book their flight together from one of our Yorkshire sites. Their flight took place on a bright and fresh August morning from York Racecourse.

The wind carried them northwards for around 12 miles, taking the balloon over a great deal of the beautiful Yorkshire countryside and even giving Cathy the opportunity to spot her house below the basket. She told us “The pilot, Chris Oxby, was very knowledgeable about the locality of the balloon and the crew were very helpful, especially with assisting my mother.”

Cathy further added that she would love to go on another balloon ride, but next time near London, “My mother and some more of our family live in Hertfordshire so I would have knowledge of the area.” If there’s one way to view a familiar place from a different perspective, it’s thousands of feet up in the air in a hot air balloon!

You too can climb on board a hot air balloon with us for as little as £89pp. We have over 100 fantastic launch sites for you to choose from, just visit our website or call us in the office on 0844 844 8080 to book now.

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By Kirsty, August 12, 2010 10:35 am

A newlywed couple whose love is certainly sky-high celebrated
the first few days of wedded bliss with  a Virgin Balloon Flights hot air balloon ride. Lianne and Chris from Shaw, Lancashire tied the knot on Saturday the 7^th of August at ‘The Riverside’ in Rochdale where they received their ‘Celebration Package’ balloon ride vouchers as a wedding gift.

“The balloon flight was a wedding present from my Uncle John … we were overwhelmed at such a generous gift and we were so excited that we would be going in a hot air balloon!” said Lianne.

The couple who will jet off on Friday to Kuredu Island in the Maldives and then on to Dubai for their honeymoon, had both never flown in a
hot air balloon before  and were extremely eager to start their airborne adventure as husband and wife.

“Chris’ favourite part was helping the pilot and crew inflate and deflate the balloon, he helped with the crown line and ropes and the cold air inflation. My favourite was the lifting off from the ground!” she added.

Their ballooning experience was an early morning flight from York Racecourse with pilot Martin Collinson and they enjoyed around an hour in the air and a Champagne toast after landing. “We saw lots of great views; we particularly liked seeing York Minster and some beautiful houses… but also thought it was great to see the horses and other animals on the ground.”

Aboard the same flight as the happy couple was Rachel Foster from Holgate York, who celebrated her 18^th Birthday at 3000 feet in the air, seen here with her certificate signed by pilot Martin & endorsed by Sir Richard Branson! Happy birthday to Rachel from all of us here at Virgin Balloon Flights.

For your chance to celebrate in the sky aboard an iconic red Virgin balloon visit virginballoonflights.co.uk or call 01952 212750

More information about flying in Yorkshire is available here!