Jesson House, TF3 3BD, Telford, Shropshire, GB
Virgin Balloon Flights is the largest commercial hot air balloon rides company in the UK and has been taking passengers up, up and away on the airborne experience of a lifetime since 1994.
We have a had a fabulous experience with our flight from Dunfold (originally Gilford) with Chris Aindow. This was our 6 attempts so never give up hope! Chris is an amazing pilot with great sense of humor. the flight was very smooth, including the landing. the wiat for so worth it. Great organization by the virgin group. I recommend 200%
We flew with Peter as our pilot and Tim and Keith as part of the team. The team were absolutely amazing and the experience was fantastic!
Amazing experience and would highly recommend to others. Super brill! Enjoy being involved in the setting up and packing away of the balloon as this was unexpected. Despite lack of wind got 1hr 20mins in the air and Dave the pilot proved he is the best pilot. Also Neil and Howard weren't too bad either 😁. The processo at the end was an added bonus.
What a great way to spend a Monday morning! Communication the night before was great. Safety was clearly important to all the staff. Everyone was so friendly and got us involved in the experience - more than just going in the basket! Our Pilot Pete was fab! But not forgetting the men on the ground Tim & Keith getting us set up and back to our cars! Thank you all so much for an incredible experience launching from Willen Lake in Milton Keynes! Highly recommend!
All the balloon flights we’ve done with Virgin have been brilliant. Safety is the pilot’s first consideration, he made it a fun and amazing experience, getting us involved in the whole thing.
Pilot Pete and ground crew Steve and Keith were fantastic in making the flight a thoroughly enjoyable experience. They were professional, yet fun throughout, so even the hands on experience of filling the balloon at the start and packing away at the end were a joy.
A great flight with Virgin today, our pilot Gavin, was very knowledgeable and informative answering all our questions. A lovely Buck’s Fizz on landing to round off the experience!
Forth time of trying we eventually got the go ahead and met at the Hop farm at 6.30pm. It was a calm and dry night, we all helped to lay out the balloon and they started the large fans to inflate the balloon ready for the burners. Once we were in the basket it wasn’t long before they let go and were ready to fly. We slowing ascend into the sky reaching 2.500 feet. Very quiet and still , we made our way in a SE direction. Starting to descend slowing into a field near Horsmonden coming down with a small bump or two. Once settled we start the repacking which meant push the air out of the balloon on the ground. Once all packed away again , we enjoyed a nice glass of sparkling wine and a trip back to our cars in their minibus. Looking forward to doing again.
An early start…but worth it! Set up appears to take time but before long we’re airborne. Flew from Launceston. Great views, but everything is at the whim of the winds. Total professionalism from the crew. Our excellent pilot Allie, then everyone mucks in to fold away the envelope at end of flight. Be prepared to be nimble to climb into the basket-No doors!
The pilot and his team made this a great experience they were very friendly and made the whole experience from start to finish fun.
What a fantastic morning floating serenely above Bristol watching the world from a different angle. Fantastic team in Mike and Caroline who made the experience even better. If this is not on your bucket then make a space near the top
The most incredible experience ever. Due to our lovely British weather it took me just under a year to take this amazing hot air balloon ride but it was totally worth the wait. I managed to see the views of my home town of Coventry with a group of amazing people. Peter our pilot was amazing, such a great sense of dry humour. I loved how we all got involved in the preparation of the set up of the balloon to deflating it. And to finally finish it off with a lovely glass of fizz. A 40th birthday present I will never forget! Thank you
Everyone was welcoming and inclusive. Professional and good humoured. Great day thank you Pete and Chris and Tim
From the moment we turned up the pilot Robert and his partner Brian were very friendly and welcoming. The whole morning was a great experience, from setting up the balloon ready for flight, to landing the balloon and helping pack up at the end. And the flight itself was such a serene experience that will always live long in the memory. I highly recommend a Virgin Balloon Flight.
Virgin balloon flights good as THIEVES heartbreaking and wrong after my flight was cancelled due to weather I was told I had a year to re book.. but what theY DO NOT tell you is, that you have to book it in the 6 months you can not fly. My kids have wasted £hundreds of pounds. which i will now have to re pay. I will never recommend this experience as our English summer is shocking. virgin are as good as thieves.
I have been trying to book a balloon flight from Manchester for over 4 years now I can't see manchester airport even listed on ther website now I am now going to ask for a full refund before o I take further action
Great organisation, convenient online booking system, skilled pilot Damon Bridger in Kent. We were lucky to get on the first flight we booked, within a week from buying the vouchers. Others on our flight were less lucky and some claimed to have had several years of cancellations. But it looks like the flights are genuinely scheduled several times a week across several sites in Kent. Our closest site The Hop Farm was fully booked for the nearest month, so I booked the farthest Headcorn, which was moved to Wadhurst in the middle. My suspicion is that the choice of the site does not matter much as it's the wind direction rather than the plan that drives pilot's choice of the site on the day.
This was my colleagues retirement present to me in 2019. Obviously Covid delayed things but I hadn't realised how much the weather, especially the wind at different levels in the atmosphere, could impact the ability to fly. We had a lot of cancelled flights and were pleasantly stunned to realise that we were at last going this morning. I was very apprehensive as I'm terrified of heights, but Robert Keron our pilot was very friendly and reassuring. .It was fun helping to get the balloon inflated.Being only 5'2" getting into the basket was a challenge but doable. We went up to 2500 feet and covered just over 8 miles. The views were spectacular and I even managed to relax, uncurl my fingers and toes and thoroughly enjoy it. The landing was exemplary and it was great to find out the thinking behind where was a possible site. Certainly an experience I will treasure.
What a flight. Weather perfect location beautiful. Nobby our pilot and his team were fantastic. Great at explaining everything and getting us all involved in the experience. I will be back again. Recommend everyone should try it.
Excellent pre-information and updates. Friendly and efficient support team. Jovial and reassuring pilot. A fantastic experience from start to finish making the early morning alarm well worth it. Would highly recommend.
