Packed with Georgian charm and surrounded by the rolling Dorset Downs, a hot air balloon ride from Blandford Forum is as refreshing as the ‘badger’ beers it’s famous for.

The small market town on the River Stour is a fantastic place to fly over. Look out for the corn exchange, market place and six arch bridge, which are highlights of the Georgian architecture present throughout. Thomas Hardy included the town in the novels, but as Shottesford Forum, rather than Blandford Forum - balloon flights give you a unique glimpse at his world.

Just south lies the small village of Blandford St Mary, home of the Hall and Woodhouse brewery, where ales like Badger Original, Tanglefoot, and Fursty Ferret are still made today. Although Champagne is the traditional ballooing tipple, after a balloon ride from Blandford Forum, maybe we should make an exception.

Blandford Forum is also the home of the Army’s Royal Signals regiment and its museum of communication science and technology can be seen at a military camp to the east. If you fly high enough, you won’t need an antenna to see the coastline at Poole in the distance as your Dorset hot air ballooning adventure unfolds.

Satellites: Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Yeovil