This balloon ride landed in Cambridgeshire and what an adventure we had! Our passengers came from London, Cambridge and Norfolk so Thetford Rugby Club was the logical venue. Once everyone had been briefed the balloon was prepared for flight this took about 45 minutes. We launched and climbed out to 3000 feet. The balloon flew just to north of Brandon then over Weeting which is the venue for the wonderful steam rally held each year. On over Hockwold Cum Wilton and towards Feltwell.
There was an ideal opportunity to land just outside the village of Feltwell, however we had plenty of fuel and daylight so we decided to continue the flight as it such a lovely evening. Once we leave Feltwell and into the start of the Fens this gives our ground retrieve crew a bit of a headache as the road network in that part of the world is rather limited. The pilot radioed the crew at suggested that they drive up to Southery and pick up the A10 down to Ely. This area of Norfolk is quite remote and has wonderful village names such as Prickwillow and Queen Adelaide.
We approached the A10 north of Ely with the magnificent cathedral clearly in view. We crossed the river at Brandon Creek brushed over the top of a line of poplar trees and the balloon landed in the first field in Cambridgeshire. The crew had done an excellent job as they were there as we landed the balloon.