Hot Air Balloon Rides - Balloon Flight Adventures

This afternoon we would launch from The recreation ground in Stowmarket Suffolk The weather has remained very settled and calm throughout March and April does seem to be following along and similar lines thank goodness I am sure we will pay for this at some point during the year However on and upwards The winds are light coming from the southeast Once airborne we climb out to 2,500 feet to savor the view Ipswich and the coast are well defined along with Bury St Edmunds and Diss to our north We leave the town behind us and head out towards Haughley in this area we again have some very valuable horses and livestock below so we climb higher to avoid any issues The higher we go the wind slows and we turn more onto a northerly heading towards the old airfield at Great Ashfield Once in open countryside we descend and under 500 feet the balloon rides another airflow and we turn to the left quite markedly We decide to land the balloon in a grass field close to the village of Norton We toast our flight with a glass of chilled champagne watching a beautiful Suffolk sunset.

This morning are balloon ride over Norfolk would start from Wymondam RFC we are aloft just after dawn without a cloud in the sky Our passengers soon agree that an early morning sunrise balloon flight is very special and the effort to arrive early in the day is a real bonus The wind on the surface was very light at 4 mph and aloft 10 mph coming from the NNE at about 020 degrees We headed out over the town and got some lovely pictures of the old Benedictine abbey located on the west of Wymondham We passed over the villages of Morley and Deopham Green To the west of Rocklands there are high densities of outdoor livestock which would not be ideal to land near without enough speed aloft to make the transit we decided to end our ballooning adventure after an hour in the air gently landing close to the village of Great Ellingham

A lovely afternoon for our ballooning adventure over the city of Norwich airborne just after 6 pm as the nights are now starting to pull out so we now meet are passengers a little later Norwich airport give us the go ahead for the launch and we start to gently drift away from the city over Cringleford as we climb we turn to the right by 20 degrees and level out at 3,000 feet The visibility is excellent we can see the wind turbines at Great Yarmouth and all the way down to Suffolk coast to Sizewell Soon we have crossed the bypass and are heading out to the south of Hethel and have a good look at Lotus car factory located on the old world war 2 airfield Our journey continues and after an hour we finally land in the parish of Braken Ash

This morning our hot air balloon flight launches again from Earlham Park Norwich our forecasters had given us a good weather window for an early morning balloon ride the key is always to start early when the surface winds are light we often experience what the met office call nocturnal jets that form overnight when there has been no cloud cover and rapid cooling they are very common in Norfolk and Suffolk and can be used to steer the balloon during flight What happens is that a slightly denser band of air forms between 200 and 500 feet then another above that at around 800 to 1200 feet these are wind sheer layers known it the trade as inversions between these layers the wind becomes compressed so it is quicker and normally flows to the right of the surface layer so how it works We lift off with a very gentle 3mph wind coming from the west and we slowly drift over the UEA car park Burners on and we start climbing at 400 feet per minute at 1000 feet we are travelling at 22 mph with a fifty degrees turn to the right perfect for our transit across Norfolk We pass just to the west of the masts at Stoke Holy Cross which means we will be clear of the Halvergate marshes never the best place for the recovery team to get to you As we approach Brooke we start our descent and start to slow down and turn to the left As we pass through 300 feet we have a good breeze in our faces this means we are descending under the inversion layer into much slower air Perfect We spot a fallow area on the headland of a field next to Seething airfield and touch down gently at 6 mph Our ground crew are right behind us a truly excellent job from these guys would be lost without them

Located directly adjacent to the University of East Anglia this launch site is an excellent facility to launch from giving unrivaled views of the city of Norwich and Norfolk Broads this afternoon we had a very light wind coming from the east making it ideal for our balloon flight the nights are now getting lighter so we lift at 6 pm We can only fly hot air balloons in stable weather conditions which means no thermals so as the days get longer we meet earler I the morning and later in the afternoon / evening we gently drift away from the city passing to the north of the Norfolk and Norwich hospital passing overhead the villages of Colney and Bawburgh As the air starts to cool the wind becomes very light and we are in open countryside as we approach Marlingford are crew and some of the passengers family are parked on a rural country road waving enthusiastically at the balloon we see a fallow area of a field and radio to the crew we will land Within twenty minutes we are enjoying a good quality class of chilled champagne with our passengers with a picturesque sunset what a perfect end to the day

This is a beautiful launch site however needs very comprehensive planning to fly from here it sits in an elevated position just to the north of Ipswich so the views of the coast are stunning however it can only be flown if the wind is taking you away from the coast and Ipswich this is why Stowmarket and the Cornwallis Hotel are used as back up sites as its all about giving passengers a good quality hour in the air Once aloft we climb up to 2,000 feet and there is quite a breeze coming in from the sea funneling up the Orwell estuary as we look back the views are breathtaking with the river stour and deben clearly defined along with Harwich and Felixtowe docks to our west the forests and marshes west of Woodbridge are a ramblers delight We are flying north with the A14 to our left eventually landing north of Stowmarket

Quite a number of people had arrived to see us fly from the recreation ground in Stowmarket this afternoon the wind was coming from the southwest and a little gusty so we delayed the launch for half an hour to let the wind settle down as it generally does coming from that direction once aloft we climbed up to 1500 feet quickly leaving the town passing over Stowupland and Gipping the visibility was a little hazy but still good as we could see the town of Diss to our north and the coastal towns of Southwold and Aldeburgh were in view Not many places to sensibly land now as the farmers have plated most of the fields with valuable crops so we have to exercise great care in the landing phase whish I hasten to add we always do !! We press on now flying over the villages of Mendlesham and Cotton We have been flying for over one hour and ten minutes when we spot the ideal field in the parish of Occold this is where our ballooning adventure gently ends

This afternoon we launch just after 4 pm close to the city of Norwich and ascend to 3,000 feet the Norfolk Broads shimmer in the afternoon sun crossing the A11 passing over Hethersett Barford and Colton The busy market town of East Dereham comes into view as we fly gently on over the A47 still quite a lot of livestock on this route so we remain high as the views from the balloon basket are truly spectacular The wash is in clear view to our west and the north Norfolk coast is well defined with Holkham and Wells to our north We have been airborne for over an hour as we cross over the A1067 at Sparham and start our descent in open rural countryside landing the hot air balloon south of the village of Whitwell close to the town of Reepham

Another ideal afternoon for our balloon ride over Suffolk With a gentle breeze coming in off the sea from the southeast We launch from the recreation ground in the centre of Stowmarket just after 5 pm the visibility was good and we could clearly make out the Suffolk coastline and Bury St Edmunds to our north We drift gently over the villages of One House and Buxhall and after an hour aloft we land close to the village of Rattlesdon

This mornings balloon trip was from the Cornwallis Hotel in Brome It was an early morning flight departing just after 7 am The surface wind was a gentle 5 mph Once airbourne the wind above the main inversion layer was running at 20 knots at 400 feet with a turn to the rights by some 40 degrees This direction would take us up the Waveney valley which is a beautiful sight to see early morning with shallow mist laying around the water meadows As we approach the town of Harleston we descend lower and our speed markedly reduces and we turn to the left I always conduct a low pass in open countryside during the first half of the flight to establish what the surface layer of wind is doing under 50 feet less than 5 mph this will increase as the sun warms off the inversion layer so I will need to be on the ground in the next hour to ensure a nice gentle balloon landing After over an hour in the air our ballooning experience comes to an end with a gentle landing in the parish of Earsham