Our Balloon Flight Over the Derbyshire Dales.
22nd July 2025
In December 2022, my wife, Lynn, celebrated her sixtieth birthday and our daughter and son-in-law bought her a balloon flight experience to mark the occasion. It was booked for two which meant that I was to go too.
From that point we booked our flight only for it to be cancelled twelve times! Always due to weather conditions. Initially rain and low cloud but more recently high or gusting winds.
We were beginning to wonder if it would ever go ahead and were very excited when, on Wednesday this week, July 16th, we finally got the go ahead message.
The start location had to change from Tissington to Newhaven but that was not a problem as they aren’t far apart. We put our dogs in kennels for the night so that we didn’t have to worry about getting home early for them.
At 6:30pm the crew arrived at the take off site as did we and our fellow passengers. Some nervous, all excited and happy that we were, at last, going to get our experience!
After briefings on safety and likely flight plan, we all helped to get the balloon inflated, climbed on board and at 7:25pm we took off!
Inflating our balloon
The flight was simply superb, the views incredible, the whole experience fantastic.
As it happened another balloon was also taking off that evening from the same field and would be our companion throughout.
Our companion for the evening
The wind had dropped to such a level that we made very little forward progress and when it came time to land we were barely a kilometre from our take off site.
I must say that the whole thing was amazing and special thanks go to our pilot, Tom Hook and his ground crew, Joe and Reece. They really made the event for us, being professional and entertaining at the same time.
I have created an album of photos from the evening and it can be seen here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCndy5
From that point we booked our flight only for it to be cancelled twelve times! Always due to weather conditions. Initially rain and low cloud but more recently high or gusting winds.
We were beginning to wonder if it would ever go ahead and were very excited when, on Wednesday this week, July 16th, we finally got the go ahead message.
The start location had to change from Tissington to Newhaven but that was not a problem as they aren’t far apart. We put our dogs in kennels for the night so that we didn’t have to worry about getting home early for them.
At 6:30pm the crew arrived at the take off site as did we and our fellow passengers. Some nervous, all excited and happy that we were, at last, going to get our experience!
After briefings on safety and likely flight plan, we all helped to get the balloon inflated, climbed on board and at 7:25pm we took off!
Inflating our balloon
The flight was simply superb, the views incredible, the whole experience fantastic.
As it happened another balloon was also taking off that evening from the same field and would be our companion throughout.
Our companion for the evening
The wind had dropped to such a level that we made very little forward progress and when it came time to land we were barely a kilometre from our take off site.
I must say that the whole thing was amazing and special thanks go to our pilot, Tom Hook and his ground crew, Joe and Reece. They really made the event for us, being professional and entertaining at the same time.
I have created an album of photos from the evening and it can be seen here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCndy5