We’ve compiled a list of your most frequently asked questions so that you can easily find the answers to all your queries and hesitations. However please don’t let this stop you! If you find you have any questions at all that you’d like answering and would like to speak to a member of our team you can call Adventure Balloons on 01252 844222 or our sister company Balloon Rides Ltd on 01757 288888.

Many of our customers ask us when we fly, the answer is in fact subject to suitable hot air balloon flying conditions. Normally we fly early morning and early evening when the wind is generally calmer and our flying season is from April to October. The times we fly are fully dependent on sunrise and sunset and so vary throughout the seasons. Based on a typical may, we would meet you at 6am for morning flights and 6pm for evening flights.

Next our customers ask us where we fly. Adventure Balloons cover locations in Berkshire, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, London, Oxford, Surrey, Sussex and York. Balloon Rides fly in York from York Racecourse or from the banks of the River Ouse at Naburn Lock. They also fly in Lincolnshire where they have sites near Grantham, Rutland Water and Stamford.

Customers ask us how to book. This is simple, you first decide which location you’d like to balloon in and then either call the relevant balloon company on the numbers given above, or alternatively you can check Balloon Rides date availability online, or use their online booking feature. Adventure Balloons also give you both the option to check dates and to book online. Whichever way is easier for you!

Another popular question asked is what weather conditions are expected for a successful flight. In answer to this we require light winds, no rain and good visibility. We strongly advise you to call us at the time specified in your map pack to confirm if the weather permits us to fly, and if so the meeting time and place. In the event that we should have to cancel your flight at short notice, it will simply be for reasons such as bad weather, and we ask you to reschedule your flight as soon as possible at a time to suit you.

If this hasn’t answered your questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with us on the above numbers or you can easily access our information and more FAQ’s on our websites www.adventureballoons.co.uk and www.balloonridesltd.co.uk.

Adventure Balloons have partnered up with Balloon Rides Ltd (www.balloonridesltd.co.uk) to offer you a wider selection of balloon flight locations. Now you can go through us to book flights in York and Lincolnshire too! But who are Balloon Rides I here you ask? Balloon Rides are in fact York’s longest running balloon operator! They were created by founder Tom Donnelly together with his unlimited enthusiasm for the sport of hot air ballooning and with his 30 plus years of experience in flying and manufacturing hot air balloons, Balloon Rides are proudly at the forefront of modern hot air ballooning. Coupled with us at Adventure Balloons, who are of course another founding member of hot air balloon rides in the UK, our customers will have a far wider choice of where to take their dream hot air balloon flight.

Balloon Rides Ltd’s pilots offer their customers the security in the knowledge of their national, international and world ballooning award wins. They have flown television and film celebrities, secured several national flight records, and made a number of ‘adventure’ flights crossing the English Channel, the Irish Sea and the Alps. With Balloons Rides you can be sure of unrivalled expertise, an unblemished safety record, excellent personalised customer service and a passionate enthusiasm for the sport.

Still of Britain’s ‘Top Ten Things To Do’ list, there’s no doubting the magic and wonder of hot air ballooning. For everyone who has ever flown in a balloon, it is a truly memorable event, one that will be treasured forever and one which will be completely unique to any other experience. Giving the gift of a hot air balloon ride ticket is certainly unbeatable and guaranteed to get quiet a reaction! What’s more, it isn’t as expensive as you might think! With balloon flights from launch sites in Yorkshire around the county’s ancient Capital City of York and over the beautiful Lincolnshire countryside near Grantham, Stoke Rochford and Rutland Water and a minimum price of just £89 per person, what have you got to lose?! Simply book online or call us on 01757 288 888.

At Adventure Balloons we specialise in hot air ballooning but what makes us stand out above the rest is that we don’t hand out rides like a conveyer belt. Our passion for ballooning drives us to enjoy providing our customers with unique experiences every time. Making you happy really does make us happy and so we always strive to tailor each flight to the individual. After 27 years of running passenger hot air balloon rides, we’re more in love with the ‘sport’ than we ever have been! There’s nothing as wonderful to us, than seeing the expressions and reactions from our passengers when we take them up on their first hot air balloon ride; it’s magic!

However it’s not just our dedication to customer satisfaction that makes us so popular; we have looked at every corner of our business so that we can bring you the very best in every area of your experience, from your researching, your choice of location and date to the booking process itself. Take a look at the features we have available for you.

Running Out Of Time? – Simply choose a voucher design from our range to arrive at the email of your choice in seconds! When you have selected your voucher type and design complete with your personal message. This facility is available 24 hours a day!

Birthday Surprise? – We have just the thing; take a look at our specialist HAPPY BIRTHDAY Balloons available for 2-4 people and for parties of 16! They’re over 100 feet high and we’re the only ballooning company to have them in the country!

Buy & Fly Now! – If you have a voucher, all you have to do is enter your location and the amount of spaces you require and we’ll give you available dates over the next 30 days! However if you do not have an Adventure Balloons Voucher you can find out available dates before you book too! Again, just select the location that you wish to fly from and the number of passenger spaces you require and you will then see all flights matching your requirements over the next 30 plus days.

Easy peasy! If you’d like to discuss the flight, book over the phone, ask questions and generally have some human contact, do feel free to call us, we’re always happy to help – 01252 844222.

Does the thought of seeing the earth and the land from another perspective entice you?

Are you eager to look down on the world like a bird with a complete and unhindered view of it all?

Does the thought of hot air ballooning excite you?

Then join the club; here at Adventure Balloons we have a real passion for hot air ballooning which is still very much alive and kicking after 27 years in the business! We are the largest company in the country offering UK balloon flights and now even operate specialist ‘Happy Birthday’ balloons! Our complete fleet has capacities which range from four to sixteen people so that we can create the perfect intimate and romantic affair, or a lively airborne party to celebrate a pivotal day!

We fly from various locations around London and the Home Counties and after many years experience it seems clear that our passengers seem to prefer to fly over a location which is familiar to them. It makes perfect sense when you think about it; say you grew up in the area, worked, or went to school there, you know the place well – on foot – however you want to see it from about and experience its true beauty! So why not take a look at our locations page to see if we cover the location of your choice? If not, why not give us a call and we can point you in the direction of one of the Balloons Over Britain hot air balloon flights member companies who fly in your location. All Balloons Over Britain members must past strict guidelines in order to carry the status and are fully certified with many years of experience and love for ballooning.

To book with us is simple, simple decide where you would like to fly and then whether you’d like to book quickly online or call on 01252 844222 to speak to a member of the team. When ordering online you can choose to have your order sent instantly by e-mail or by post and can even take a look at flight availability to get an idea of when you can take your flight! Flights start from as little as £89 per person and you have the choice of sunset or sunrise flight, weekday or weekend.

We fly people of all ages from as young as 7 to as old as 120! As long as children meet the right height requirements and you are fit and able to stand and climb over the basket, it would be our pleasure to give you this wonderful experience. Take a look at our FAQ for a complete guide to what to expect and what you need to know, along with a list of medical exemptions. However if you have any questions and you’d like to speak to a member of our team, please feel free to call our offices on the already mentioned telephone number.

Bon Voyage!

Having just promised my own 10 year old a Hot air Balloon flight for her 11^th birthday this year I can safely say, judging by her reaction, that it is simply the best present a person could ever ask for. In fact, did you know that according independent research Hot Air Balloon Flights consistently fall in the “Top Ten Things” people have always wanted to do?

Let’s face it, a balloon isn’t exactly the best mode of transport, so if you actually need to get somewhere, maybe you should look at hiring a car. However, if adventure or an ‘out of this world’ experience is what you’re looking for then Hot Air Ballooning is just the thing! There are few things in life that can compare to the pure thrill and exhilaration of a ride in a balloon, regardless of your age! The unique sensation of being airborne in a balloon, 3’000 feet in the air with a 360° view will please anyone whether you’re 8 or 108 years of age! We have never failed to achieve a ‘gasp’ reaction from our passengers as they gaze down at the earth below, a panoramic, bird’s eye view.

Giving a balloon flight gift voucher for a birthday present would make the most amazing surprise for anyone, young or old and here at Adventure Balloons we have options which can make the whole event even more memorable!

• Have you considered purchasing our Balloon Flight Gift Box? Your loved one can then un-wrap a box containing a DVD or video and surprise gift, along with your Balloon Flight Gift Voucher, brochure and 20 page map pack.
• Book our exclusive “Happy Birthday” balloon, the only flights operator in the UK to have them!

Since 2000 we have operated a 2-4 person balloon for exclusive birthday groups and due to an overwhelming response to customer requests we have now added two new 16 person happy birthday balloons to our fleet so that all our passengers can fly in a happy birthday balloon. These additions mean that you can now book our Happy Birthday balloons for party bookings!

When booking a date for your flight, just check with our staff for available dates to fly in these balloons at no extra charge. (Available on most of our balloon flights in Berkshire, Hampshire, Lincolnshire, Oxford, Surrey and York in 2012). 01252 844222

With reports of strong winds tearing through most of the UK we’ve seen some pretty interesting stories recently. With planes at Aberdeen Airport unable to land, overturned aircrafts at Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey, roofs ripped off at Epsom Racecourse, large tree’s blowing over causing fatalities in Tunbridge Wells plus similar issues in Kent, 100mph winds blowing large wheelie bins around in Edinburgh, high seas and force 10 winds causing the Port of Dover to close, a sailor killed after his vessel was hit by a large wave in the English Channel, thousands of people still without power in parts of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and so the list goes on, and on and on and…

Severe weather warnings across many parts of the UK are being issued by the Met Office, with major storm-force winds clearly causing serious disruption! So we can safely say that the New Year has brought flight delays here at Adventure Balloons! So if you have a flight booked with us (or anyone else in the UK for that matter), do phone in and check before you set off as you may be disappointed when you arrive on site!

However don’t let any of this put you off! As you know the weather in our beloved Britain can change in the blink of an eye, tomorrow could be clear and sunny! If you’ve been thinking about booking a flight, why not get in touch and we can advise you when we believe the conditions to be ok and when we have availability. We strongly advise that you still phone on the day of your flight to check that the conditions are appropriate for hot air ballooning.

To book you adventure, you can choose from various locations in Oxfordshire, York & Lincolnshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, London, Essex Kent Sussex, South Hampshire, North Hampshire and Surrey. Simply visit our site to book online, or call us on local rate 01252 844222.

Being the true leaders that we are, in 1993 Adventure Balloons updated their hot air balloon baskets by incorporating new seats for additional comfort and safety. However it was only from 2007 that the Civil Aviation Authority recognised this major contribution to balloon flights safety and so went on to recommended that other balloon rides operators in the country should follow suit in order to avoid foot, ankle and general lower limb injuries to passengers upon landing which can sometimes come down with a bit of a ‘bump’. Trust Adventure Balloons to start a trend, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Also incorporated into this newly designed basket as required by the CAA, is measures to support the head in case of a bumpy landing. We have also added large stainless steel footwells to avoid passengers slipping on entry and exit from the basket and then no other than the “Bladerunner” landing system which was of course developed by our very own Kim Hull.

“We are proud of our passenger safety record since fitting seats to our balloons in 1993 and pleased that the CAA has finally realised the great benefit of fitting them and look forward to other balloon operators using them” says Chief Pilot Kim Hull.

2007’s addition to our superb fleet of exceptional balloons included the featured 16 passenger balloon from no other but the Lindstrand Factory where we can be absolutely sure of the highest quality and standards. You will see the above discussed additions featured in the mentioned balloon pictured above. We take pride in the complete enjoyment and comfort our passengers receive when flying with us, this is clear to see from the picture!

For bookings and more information visit the site, or simply call us 01252 844222.

Lindstrand Balloons has a proven and renowned track record of project management, and also boasts the highest available approval rating from the British CAA and the American FAA, and EASA, for the manufacture of lighter-than-air craft! And with the advent of pan-European legislation for balloon maintenance this year, who better to do the checks and walk us through any needed changes than the Managing Director of Lindstrand Balloons himself!?

Due to their high levels of excellence, Lindstrand Balloons make all of our balloons that way ensuring the absolute highest quality aircraft. Then each year their trained inspectors thoroughly check over our fleet of hot air balloons making sure they are up to the British CAA, the American FAA, and the EASA standards. Adventure Balloons have been working as a technical partner with Lindstrand Balloons since they started in 1993, and were in fact one of their first customers.

When Simon Forse the Managing director came to inspect our balloons back in 2009, we were delighted to be told that the burner we’d purchased back in 1993 was in excellent health! Simon was curious to know how many flights it had done since it left the factory and so was obviously more than satisfied when we told him it had flown for 15 seasons with hardly any major replacements! With this he asked if he could put an advert in the UK’s balloon magazine about the burner and of course we were more than happy for him to go ahead! Any publicity’s good publicity right!

So bear in mind that while other balloon operator’s may boast modern equipment, our partnership with Lindstrand Balloons ensures even more than that. Our teams combination of the most modern and the most reliable equipments makes for a ballooning experience you can trust.

For more information about Adventure Balloons or Lindstrand Balloons, please call us on 01252 844222, or simply visit the website where you will find a wealth of information to answer a full range of customer enquiries. For bookings call us on the same number, or simply book online for fast and easy payments and date availability checks.

Hot air balloon companies don’t tend to schedule passenger balloon flights during the winter months due to the ‘unforgiving’ and rather unreliable weather conditions. Conditions for ballooning need to be just right; wind direction and speed need to meet specific guidelines, visibility must be good and there cannot be forecasted rain – packing away a wet tent is a bad idea! Having said all this, when you do get a good day weather wise, it can be perfect and so sometimes here at Adventure Balloons, we take a balloon out with the crew to give them a treat, but also to enable them to learn more about what is involved in piloting a hot air balloon.

On the last day of January this year we had studied the weather forecasts and found that at around midday, the wind would change from a North Easterly to a South Westerly, and remain very light throughout. So we took out 4 person Happy Birthday balloon out at 10.45 in the morning, drifting from our Hampshire balloon ride base down towards the villages of Hook and Odiham. There are so many ‘visual treats’ on this route, on this particular day a stunning frozen lake; however you float wherever the wind takes you and for now, it took us along one side of the lake.

As we climbed in height and the wind fluctuated we found ourselves among the tree tops, after which we ended up back at this enchanting lake. At one point we were even able to touch the frozen lakes surface, flying along just a few inches above it! As some trees along the lakes edge loomed ahead, we crept once again in height where the varying winds once again took us back to this ‘magnetic’ lake where we landed gracefully on its edge; well, I say gracefully but the swans inhabiting the area were not too pleased about our sudden visit, still they reclaimed their spot when we drifted away again!

Thankfully most of this was captured by a very nice gentleman who gave us photographic evidence of our eventful morning in exchange we gave him some excellent shot’s of his home! Just take a look at the stunning photograph above! Furthermore, this lovely gentleman later sent us a link to this amazing You Tube video, please watch; it’s that good I even posted it to my own profile! – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfgOYsWnisk

Hot air ballooning is all about the weather! Being a completely weather dependent activity, specific date bookings can never be guaranteed. So where many of our balloon ride passengers fly on their first attempt, you’ll also find that equally as many will first undergo a few attempts. You will need to have a certain degree of patience when it comes to taking your flight; the more bookings you make the quicker you will get your chance, but worry not, we can safely say that the experience is always worth the wait.

As the UK is positioned on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean it means that traditionally we have low pressure weather systems in the winter and more high pressure systems in the summer. Higher pressure weather normally brings blue skies, light winds and little rain, where as the lower pressure systems tend to bring storms, rain and strong winds. For this reason, hot air ballooning seasons run from April to October and it is thought that the best time to fly is between July and August.

Flights tend to take place at sunrise or sunset as this is when the wind can be a little lighter. For the flight to go ahead, winds must be less than 10 miles an hour during the hour after dawn or before dusk and so careful monitoring is always required! Don’t panic however; we always let our passengers know well in advance. We use forecasts and rely on this information to be able to make the decision to call the flight on, however sometimes this information can be incorrect and so on rare occasions we have to cancel at the launch site.

It is actually very simple to predict if the wind is going to be very light or too strong and often it can be seen some days ahead as high or low pressure weather systems approach. If suitable conditions can be seen ahead, we will text passengers of available spaces and sometimes even put on additional flights.

Visibility is the trickiest to predict and is certainly the main culprit in terms of error in weather forecasts. With various weather conditions such as mist, fog or low cloud being rather subtle and varying from mile to mile, our balloon pilot’s always ensure they access the most up to date information and even rely on local knowledge.

Ballooning in the rain is frankly not an option. When you consider that the top of the balloon reaches nearly 100 degrees Centigrade (the boiling point of water), it will come as no surprise that when the rain falls on the balloon, its cooling effect is sure to have a consequence! If the balloon cools it will descend rapidly and so the pilot has to put in extra heat from the burners to compensate for the heat loss. The whole ordeal is bad for the balloon fabric and makes the balloon much harder to control; what’s more, packing the balloon away while it’s wet is not the greatest idea! So it is basically a case of watching the weather radar closely to see where the showers are forming, where they are tracking and if they are beginning to die away.

As I’m sure you can now gather, there are plenty of weather conditions to be mindful of, so if you’re booking your balloon flight, remember, if it’s cancelled, it’s for your own safety! However your patients will always be rewarded when it comes to hot air ballooning – Adventure Balloons will certainly guarantee you one of the most magical experiences you could ever have.