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