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Adventure Week 24
  • Week 1 - Adventure Racing
  • Week 2 - Serious Surfing
  • Week 3 - Orienteering
  • Week 4 - Sailing
  • Week 5 - Dixons Hollow Sklls Course
  • Week 6 - Traditional Climbing
  • Week 7 - How Stern Gorge
  • Week 8 - Power Kiting
  • Week 9 - Swale Charity Paddle
  • Week 10 - Walk the Cleveland Way National Trail
  • Week 11 - Try Gliding at Sutton Bank
  • Week 12 - Try Windsurfing
  • Week 13 - 5 Day Tou of the Dales
  • Week 14 - Go Geocaching
  • Week 15 - Scotton 100 Cycle Event
  • Week 16 - Sea Kayaking
  • Week 17 - Three Peaks Fell Race
  • Week 18 - Fishing
  • Week 19 - Trekking Centre
  • Week 20 - Etape du Dale Cyclospotive
  • Week 21 - Gaping Gill - Open week
  • Week 22 - Settle Loop
  • Week 23 - Go Ape at Dalby Forest
  • Week 24 - Ballooning
  • Week 25 - Dalby Forest Walk and Play
  • Week 26 - York to Selby Cycle Route
  • Week 27 - Try Paragliding
  • Week 28 - Thixendale Round
  • Week 29 - Ryedale Rumble Cyclosportive
  • Week 30 - Go down a showcave
  • Week 31 - Lancaster to York Cycle Ride
  • Week 32 - Wasburn Paddle
  • Week 33 - Guided Caving Trip
  • Week 34 - Malham Trailquest
  • Week 35 - Cotter Force
  • Week 36 - Moors to Sea Cycle Tour
  • Week 37 - Boots and Beer Walking Fesival
  • Week 38 - Climbing the Big Three
  • Week 39 - 3 Peaks Cyclocross
  • Week 40 - Husky Trekking
  • Week 41 - Saltergate Fell Run
  • Week 42 - Multi day horse ride at the North York Moors National Park
  • Week 43 - Whitby to Scarborough Cycle Route
  • Week 44 - Caving
  • Week 45 - Bike Trials
  • Week 46 - Tramper Route to Old Gang
  • Week 47 - Guided Walks
  • Week 48 - Mountain Biking at Dalby Forest
  • Week 49 - Open Access Walk
  • Week 50 - Bouldering
  • Week 51 - Try Surfing
  • Week 52 - Ingleton Climbing Wall
What's this? »
Ballooning

Ballooning

Fly from a range of launch sites in and around
the Yorkshire Dales

Week 24 - Air Sports

BallooningLevel of Fitness
Previous ballooning experience is not necessary, everyone is welcome.

Airborne Adventures
As long as you are tall enough to see out of the basket (roughly age ten and over) fit and healthy you will enjoy your balloon flight. Our oldest client was 94 when she took her flight.

Blue Sky Balloons
We have a lower age limit of eight years and passengers must be at least 4 feet 6 inches tall. Children under the age of sixteen will not be carried unless accompanied by an adult. We do not have an upper age limit, but passengers must be medically fit to fly.

Of all types of air transport, balloon travel is by far the safest.  Balloons are inspected annually and issued with certificates of airworthiness.

The Experience
Flights take place from a range of launch sites in the Yorkshire Dales and surrounds, see individual operators for locations. Most flights last up to one hour in the air but please allow three hours for the whole experience, from your initial arrival at the launch site to the time that you return.

How fast and far do you fly?  The balloon travels at the same speed as the wind.  As the hot air balloon can only safely be inflated and flown in winds below 10 mph, the average distance is usually 7-10 miles "as the crow flies".  The maximum forecast wind speed that can be flown is 15 mph at 2000 ft.  Flights are usually at an altitude of between 500 - 1000 feet, but on occasions may climb to an altitude of 5000 feet - around a mile high!

Sail the skies above YorkshireWinds are generally lightest first thing in the morning and late afternoon.

In the calm conditions in which you will fly, the basket hangs motionless in the air current in which it is travelling. The feeling is one of remaining totally still as the countryside is wound by underneath you.

The balloon travels with the wind and it is not possible to steer it, so this makes it impossible to make a round trip. After an hour's flight, the balloon will land in a suitable field and you will be collected and transported back to the launch site by road.

Family and friends can watch or join in the adventure.  Non-flying participants are invited to follow the retrieve vehicle by road and assist with the take off and landing.

Have a go
Subject to weather, flights can be offered all year round to try and fit in with everyone's taste and expectations and to make the most of seasonal changes in scenery and climate. 

The best weather is during British Summer Time and the main season runs from March to October where flights are available daily, both morning and evening

Subject to weather flights take place twice a day during the ballooning season, which runs from April until October. Flying in the winter is sporadic and depends on the condition of the fields as much as the weather.

Every flight offers a unique experience and every month of the flying season can be recommended.

Reservations for your first flight attempt are made for the day you would like to fly on. It is always a good idea to book up to a couple of weeks in advance for a weekend flight and two or three days in advance for a weekday flight.

Getting ready for take offWhat should you wear?  Sturdy flat shoes ideal for fields are essential, the ground is often quite damp first thing in the morning, so walking boots are recommended. It is not cold in the hot air balloon basket and if you are comfortably warm standing on the ground, you should only require a light additional layer of clothing.  It is recommended that you wear casual clothing, i.e. long trousers and sleeves in natural fabrics and a hat to protect your head from the radiant heat of the burners.

Bring a camera and plenty of film to capture your experience but make sure that you can safely stow away your camera for landing.

Find out more
Flights in the Yorkshire Dales, Three Peaks and tailor made

Flights around Harrogate and York