Every year there are certain balloon flights that really do stick in your mind and this evening was certainly on of those. We greeted our passengers at Mattishall Golf Club. The wind on the surface was going to take us south slowly towards the town of Wymondham. We always extract highly detailed forecasts prior to every balloon trip and this evening at height the wind was flowing in the opposite direction with more speed. However we would need to fly high, very high. With a flight of this caliber you need consensus from the passengers they are happy for this to take place, everyone was very keen. At 500 feet we were barley moving at 3 knots, a radio call to Norwich Air Traffic Control requesting to ascend to 7,500 feet was made. The reply came back ‘ yes you have clearance to climb to FL75. Stratus burners on and the balloon is heated we start our climb at 500 feet per minute. Eyes now on the GPS system at 2,000 we are virtually stationary! We keep climbing passing 2,500 we start to turn towards Norwich at 10 knots. At 5,000 feet heading Taverham 16 knots. We finish the climb at 7,500 feet now heading north at 23 knots towards Blickling and the north Norfolk coast. Norwich ATC call us on the radio to inform that a sea breeze has developed and the surface wind is now coming from the east, so we now know our direction will change again when we descend into the surface layer. The view was to say the least quite something. From Kings Lynn, Morston through to the Norfolk Broads with ships out on the North Sea all were well defined. As we approach Blickling we start our descent and at 800 feet turn to the left some 100 degrees. We are now travelling towards the attractive market town of Reepham. We fly over the town centre to waves from the locals sitting outside the Kings Arms and a large group of very excited children who have now decided to give chase on their bicycles. We land on a cut hay field in the parish of Reepham after one hour and 35 minutes in the air. A truly wonderful end to the day.

This evening's flight would take us high above the Cambridgeshire landscape, with breathtaking views from the basket for all to enjoy. The air balloon launched from Peterborough at 19.45 hrs into a gentle breeze coming from the northwest at about 5 mph. As we gained height it was soon apparent that the visibility was very good with no haze, these conditions are a big bonus if you are a keen photographer. We had an excellent platform to view a panorama of the city. The topic of conversation will often focus for a while on the large medieval cathedral which can be recorded back to King Peada who built the first monastery on the site in 650AD. The cathedral and it monastery were sacked by the Vikings in the late 800's. It was then rebuilt as a Benedictine Abbey in the late 900s'. Fire destroyed the Abbey in 1116. It was rebuilt in its present form between 1117 and 1239. During the dissolution of the monasteries in Henry the eights reign. Worship changed from Roman Catholic to the Book of Common Prayer. It then became the Cathedral of Peterborough in 1541 and it is now known as the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew. It is a magnificent building with so much history if you have a few hours free it is well worth a visit. This city is a mix of old and new and was rapidly expanded during the 1970's. From the air the city is very well designed with excellent road networks and a surprising amount of green space to be enjoyed. As we drift out the east the river Nene flows out through the ‘Dog n Doublet' sluice, the river is tidal to this point. It then flows through Wisbech and out into the wash along with the Great Ouse at Kings Lynn. After an hour aloft we look for a place to land, prior to harvest it is quite difficult to find the ideal spot. We are drifting into a fallow field quite small however a straw stack is in the middle, so we will have to be careful where we position the balloon for landing. We gently land in the parish of Thorney Toll. With glasses held high we toast our evenings flight.

An early morning balloon flight in the summer is a winner that's if you don't mind getting up early. This morning we met our passengers at Mattishall Golf Club and were airborne at 05.50 hrs. It was a stunning morning with a shallow layer if mist spread out in front of us. This would very soon ‘burn off' in the morning's sunshine. We had a good view of the city of Norwich, which had yet to awake from its sleep. We climbed up to 2,500 feet the wind was a little quicker than the forecasters had lead us to expect at around 18 knots, we were soon passing over head Barnham Broom Golf and Country Club. No golfers to be seen. We maintained at this altitude for the next half and hour crossing the A11 between Hethersett and Wymondham. From the air we had a good vantage point of Norfolk's prestigious sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars at Hethel. Looking back we leave Norwich behind and start to approach Dunston Hall and cross the A140. We now start our descent; at lower altitude the wind is flowing in a slightly different direction turning us to the right by nearly 90 degrees. On towards Morningthorpe and Long Stratton. We had been airborne for more than an hour and the surface layer of wind had started to increase so it sensible to look for somewhere to land. As we approached Hempnall a large area of ‘set a side' was spotted the passengers were briefed to stow their cameras and adopt landing positions. At 6 feet above the field the deflation system was deployed. Our all up weight on today's balloon trip is 1,667 kg so at 11knots the inertia is equivalent to good ten tonnes at touch down, so hold on. We drag about 50 meters with the balloon basket ending up gently on its side. Our passengers did really seem to enjoy that bit. The retrieve crew are quickly on the scene and soon have permission to retrieve the balloon. The ballooning equipment is packed away and we have a leisurely chat with a glass or two of champagne savoring our early morning adventure.

Our hot air balloon flight this evening launched from theKen Stimpson playing field behind Werrington Sports Centre. With not a cloud in the sky we ascended at 19.40 hrs and gently climbed up to 3,000 feet. Our overall heading was towards the town of Spalding. The visibility was good as we looked back across the city we could see the cathedral Ferry Meadows and Milton Park. Rutland Water was clearly in view as the water shimmered in the evening's sunshine. As our eyes move across the skyline the busy market town of Stamford is easily viewed from he balloon basket. As we gain more height we can see across the wash with the Norfolk coastline running up to Hunstanton. The towns of Wisbech, March and Kings Lynn are clearly visible. The wind is coming from the south west at a very gentle 10 mph and appears to be getting a little slower, so we start our descent. We are soon down at 100 feet gently drifting over the fields. At this height the wind has dropped out to 5 mph. We continue on and over the village of Deeping St Nicholas eventually landing in a fallow field adjacent to the Spalding road. The balloon was quickly packed up and we toasted our flight watching a stunning Lincolnshire sunset.

This evening our balloon flight proved to be a little quicker than our forecasters suggested. The wind was coming from the northeast so the ideal launch location was the villages of Gooderstone. As this would keep us away from Stanford Battle Area who were busy. A big thank you to Mick from Crow Hall Farm who unlocked and Mr Bartlett for allowing us to use his facility. A call to RAF Lakenheath confirmed the weather and wind speed we good to go and they were happy about the hot air balloon being in close proximity to their airspace. Inflating the balloon was quite a handful as the wind was a steady 10 knots. Take off was 19.40 hrs and we quickly ascended to 1,500 feet. We passed over Oxborough Hall built in the 15th century now administered by the National Trust. If you get a chance you should visit this moated masterpiece, the gardens are beautifully maintained too and well worth a look. The air was crisp and clean all of the wash was well defined along with the Lincolnshire and Norfolk coastline. We fly just to the east of Stoke Ferry and get a good view of the aqueduct and the river Wissey. Ely cathedral is always such a prominent landmark in this part of the world, we can also see the rive nene running all the way back to Peterborough. After an hour aloft we spot a cut hay field west of Hilgay. The ideal place to land and celebrate our flight.

This week has proved to be quite busy and today was no exception. After a successful office inspection form the Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday this morning was time for our annual flight test. Every 13 months to maintain your commercial flying license you have to be tested by a type rated examiner TRE. Tony Hill had driven up from Kent to do to deed. The balloon and passengers was airborne a little before 6.00 am from or base at Wendling. Just above 500 feet we headed south towards Bradenham, however as the balloon continued its ascent we started to turn to the right, at 2,500 feet we were now heading to Swaffham at a steady 10 mph. We made to decision to climb a little higher, at 4,500 feet we were be calmed the GPS showing virtually no movement, up and up the balloon climbs. At 5,600 feet we start to head back to Dereham at 20 mph so after 50 minutes in the air we are now flying back past our launch site. Time to descend over Scarning at 500 feet our direction changes again and we are now heading back to Wendling landing in the village after one hour in the air travelling 15 miles. I must admit I was feeling well pleased with my self. Tony Hill gave me a thumbs up and a cheer from our passengers, what could possibly go wrong now!!!! Our retrieve crew already had permission for us to land and were driving across the old paddocks, then completely ignored the perfectly serviceable gate way and drove into shallow ditch which joined our paddock, within two shakes of a lambs tail the Land Rover & trailer were ‘buried' I turned to Tony and said' I don't believe they have done that!!! One of our crew Pete Matsell looked and replied I will be back in a bit, sure enough Pete returns with a tractor and chain and we are out in no time!