I did something completely different this morning: I flew in a hot air balloon! It was a birthday present from my good lady wife, and what a fantastic experience it was.
Sixteen of us (yes, sixteen!) clambered into the basket at 6am in the middle of a remote Cheshire field on a glorious sunny morning and we quickly soared to 2,000 feet. It was a surreal experience being suspended so high in the air with the only sound being the occasional blast of the hot air furnace – but what views!
We were at the total mercy of the prevailing breeze and it took us around ten miles west where we landed in a farmer’s field full of inquisitive cows (and dung!) on the edge of Whitchurch.
It was definitely a ‘must do’ – a tick in the box for life experiences but maybe a better plan is to do it outside the UK. The aerial views of the patchwork green countryside of England cannot be beaten on an early sunny summer morning, but the UK weather is certainly not conducive to ballooning as it took me twelve months and seven attempts to get airborne as the slightest cloud, rain or wind scuppers a balloon flight.
Here’s a little film of the flight to pique your interest, though if you take my advice and go for it, pick a sunnier clime!
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