Chris May and Liz Blaney were the lucky winners of a Champagne balloon flight for two in our recent ‘Great British Voyages competition’ on Facebook. The pair took to the skies from on a hot air balloon from Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire on a sunny Saturday afternoon in September.

Chris was over the moon to win the balloon flight as it was something he had always wanted to do. Liz was perhaps even more excited, telling us ‘I wouldn’t let him take anyone else!!’

Our closest hot air balloon ride to Windsor, the balloon drifted over the River Thames and they were able to spot many familiar sights below the basket. Their pilot Mark Shemilt gave them a detailed commentary of their route, explaining where they were flying over, how fast they were going and where they were heading to land. When we asked what their favourite part of the flight was, they said

Chris enjoyed calling and waving to the people on the ground and my favourite part was the take off, seeing the ground just slowly come away from us.

Liz added,

I was really looking forward to it, but was a little anxious whether it might be a bit scary being so high up. But, when you're up there and just looking at everything around you, you forget how high up you are. We both just really enjoyed it.

We asked the couple if they’d like to do another flight, Liz said,

I’d be happy to do another flight in the UK and pick another launch site to see a different area from the UK. Although Chris would like to try one over the Serengeti!

Keep an eye out for more competitions on our Facebook and Twitter page. If you want to book your hot air balloon ride over Henley on Thames or beyond, you can climb on board a hot air balloon with us for as little as £99pp. 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.

Our competition winners go hot air ballooning over Henley-on-Thames