Virgin Balloon Flight

After the scare of being told that our vouchers had expired, having sorted that out and re-booked, past experience told us that our chances of flying were small. We rang up at the appointed time and were told to ring back again in 15min. Then amazingly we were told that the flight was 'on'. So we rushed down to Stanford Hall, Lutterworth. We had to blag our way through the gate because the house was closed and we were the first to arrive for the flight.

Then other people started arriving and finally the balloon kit itself. The pilot was not happy with the wind conditions and kept sending up little tester balloons but eventually we got the call to come aboard.

Once airborne it was all smiles - wonderfully peaceful - exceptional visibility - lots of camera activity

I think we were told that some of what we were seeing was mediaeval ridge and furrow.
As for wildlife we saw quite a lot of pheasants, rabbits and a fox.

The pilot was looking for a grassy field to land in. There was one good one but he decided that the lambs in it were too young to have to deal with a balloon landing so we soared off to look for another. Then another small meadow offered itself but the recovery team could not get to it quick enough to 'catch' the balloon in the small area, so off we flew again. Finally as the light was fading the pilot gave up and put us down in a crop field. 

There was  work for everyone after landing

And after all that a glass of champagne (in the dark)

And the certificate!