Lancashire Balloon Flights

About your Champagne Hot Air Balloon Flight

After the flight, our experienced crew, who will have been following the balloon during the flight, will pack away the balloon and certificates will be presented along with complimentary Champagne and Orange Juice to celebrate the Flight. Transport back to the launch site is provided for those who wish it.

Clothing
Wear sensible outdoor shoes, trousers and long sleeves ( natural fibres are recommended, high heels are not ! ). Because the balloon is travelling with the wind, it appears very calm and not as cold as you may expect.

Photography
Balloons are the ideal platform for aerial photography and video recording - bring plenty of film. We also recommend that friends on the ground bring a camera.

Duration
Your flight will last approximately 1 hour but allow at least 3 hours from start to finish.

Weather
Ballooning is wholly dependent on suitable weather, light winds, good visibility and no rain. Please bear with us if we have to postpone flights.

When
We fly all year round, although April to October usually provide the most stable conditions, in the early mornings and evenings.

Who Can Fly
Children should be at least four feet tall. Elderly people require calm conditions and we cannot fly pregnant women for safety reasons

A Typical Morning or Evening Flight

Arrive
Arrival time 1 to 1 1/2 hours before take off time, coffee available on arrival. We fly at the beginning and end of the day when the air is stable, thermal activity caused by the sun heating the ground causes instability during the day. Times are typically 6.00am and 6.30pm.

Flight Briefing
A briefing will be given covering the days meteorological report, expected flight path, approaching the balloons and expected time of arrival back at HQ (a separate briefing will be given by the pilots prior to take off advising safe conduct during the flight).

Inflation
Guests will be invited to assist with inflating the balloons, this usually takes about 30 mins.

The Flight
We normally plan to fly the first half hour or so at high altitude up to 5,000ft. For a panoramic view of the countryside. On certain days we are able to see as far as the Isle of Man, to the West, and the Yorkshire Dales, to the East, as well as the Welsh mountains South and The Lake District and Forest of Bowland to the North. The second half of the flight we then track at lower levels so as to relate to wild life and scenic countryside.

The Retrieve
After landing the retrieve crew, who will have been following the balloon, will help to pack away the balloon and then return us all back to HQ, where champagne will be served to celebrate the flight and certificates presented to remember it by. The champagne incidentally, is part of the tradition of ballooning, the historical story is that the Montgolfiere brothers, the first balloonists, used to give the peasants champagne when they landed to show that the balloon was of human origin and not piloted by devils or extra terrestrial beings!

Terms & Conditions

 

Select Your Flight

Lancashire Balloon Flight - Ribble Valley - Mid Week Morning - £129.00 Lancashire Balloon Flight - Ribble Valley - Any Day - £149.00 Lancashire Balloon Flight - Lake District - £179.00 Exclusive Charter - Ribble Valley - 2 Person - £565.00 Exclusive Charter - Ribble Valley - 4/6 Person - £895.00 Exclusive Charter - Ribble Valley - 7/10 Person - £1,450.00 Exclusive Charter - Ribble Valley - 11/12 Person - £1,740.00