Chrissie Miller, 100, from Knightswood in Glasgow, was on cloud nine last week when she was able to fulfil her lifelong wish and fly in a hot air balloon.
Not only is Chrissie is our oldest flyer, she is also believed to be the oldest person to fly in a hot air balloon in the UK. She flew with her carer and good friend Jacqui Malerkey from the Flexicare project by Bield housing and care association.
Chrissie turned 100 back in May this year and her care group organised a small party before surprising her with the hot air balloon flight.
Watch Chrissie take to the skies in one of our big red balloons.
Watch video "100 year old Chrissie gets chance to fly in hot air balloon" at Youtube.
Speaking about the experience, Jacqui said: “Chrissie is well-travelled and has been to many countries over the years, but has never had the opportunity to go on a hot air balloon ride. When she turned 100 in May this year, I asked her what her birthday wish would be and she said ‘I’d like to go up, up, up’ – I eventually realised she meant a hot air balloon, so I contacted Virgin Balloon Flights to see if they could help us.”
Launching from Auchterader in Perthshire on Tuesday afternoon, the iconic Virgin balloon floated across Gleneagles and the beautiful Scottish landscapes for around an hour - giving Chrissie and 14 other passengers some incredible bird’s eye views on their once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“Chrissie and I loved every second of the experience, it was fantastic. She was spoilt rotten and well look after by the pilot and crew. They even gave her a glass of whiskey, which is Chrissy’s favourite tipple, instead of the traditional Champagne toast,” says Jacqui.
“She’s not stopped smiling since she got into the basket! We can’t thank the team enough.”
Our Scotland pilot Martin Cowling said: “Chrissie was a great character and it was lovely to have her on board. I feel honoured to have flown our oldest passenger and I’m so glad she enjoyed her sky-high adventure.”
If you're based in Scotland, you may have seen this story featured in Scottish newspapers last week. Daily newspaper The Courier, have captured some awesome photos of Chrissie's hot air balloon flight.
We're so glad we could make her dream come true!
Have you got a friend or relative who says 'that's something I've always wanted to do' when hot air balloons are mentioned? Make someone's dream come true and buy their ticket to the skies today.
Perhaps a hot air balloon ride over Perth itself is something they've always dreamed about, where we also launch from the fabulous North Inch park.